About 100 Schuylkill County school students will start the new academic year with everything they need for their A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s, thanks to Koch’s Turkey Farm.

Volunteers from the Tamaqua area business spent a recent day filling 100 backpacks with essential school items.

According to Ann Marie Blashock, Koch’s Turkey Farm provided notebooks, folders, white boards, water bottles, colored pencils and markers, pens, highlighters, sharpeners, scissors, erasers, pencil cases, glue sticks and more.

“Boyer‘s Food Markets donated 100 $5 gift certificates that can be redeemed for a healthy snack at any of their stores,” Blashock noted.

The backpacks were turned over to Schuylkill Children and Youth and the Salvation Army for distribution in Schuylkill County.

“This is the first time we’re doing this,” Blashock said of the backpack giveaway. “At the end of 2025, we started a Community Giving project team to increase our involvement in the community.”

The team gathers frequently to brainstorm ways it can help.

So far, Koch’s volunteers have worked at Helping Harvest Food Bank, supported scholarships for the summer nature camp program at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and hosted program campers for a tour of their facility.

They’ve also donated socks, blankets, toiletries, gloves and hats to veterans, families, men and women at the Opportunity House emergency shelter, and turned over turkeys and a monetary donation to Schuylkill Community Action’s Brighter Holiday Project.

Koch’s also launched its first “Sponsor-a-Teacher” contest and awarded three county classrooms $250 Amazon gift cards and pencil pouches containing school supplies. Winners were chosen through a poster contest.