Story by Lily Coleman, wtae.com

WILKINS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — More than a dozen volunteers met inside the Wilkins Elks building Thursday morning, packing bags of food for local students.

It’s something that Blessings in a Backpack has been doing for the last 14 years.

While the location in which they work has changed over time, the majority of the people volunteering have stayed the same. However, 2025 was a tough year for the organization as they lost their fearless leader, Linda Lafferty.

“It was her joy and her legacy and her love to do,” said Lafferty’s daughter, Tara Reis.

Reis says her mom started a local chapter of “Blessings in a Backpack” in Wilkinsburg more than a decade ago.

“When she was sick, she said, ‘You got to help me with Blessings'” Reis recalled. “I said, ‘We got it, mom. We got it covered.'”

The group of volunteers meets weekly to pack the bags with shelf-stable food for students to take home, no questions asked. It’s not cheap; it costs nearly $50,000 a year to run the entire operation. It’s also not easy, and it wouldn’t be possible without the help of amazing volunteers, according to Reis.

“We were talking about it after Linda passed, and what are we going to do? And one of our members said, ‘We’ve got to have someone pick up the reins,'” said MJ Shaw.

Shaw, a longtime volunteer, says after careful thought and prayer, she decided she would step up to continue Linda’s legacy.