Where to find free school supplies in Phoenix and Maricopa County
Families across Phoenix and Maricopa County may get free school supplies, backpacks, and clothes through a mix of summer giveaways, church events, and year-round food and clothing banks. Because most Arizona schools start in late July or early August, the bulk of these events happen in July — earlier than in much of the country — so it helps to start looking as soon as summer begins.
A lot of the biggest giveaways here are drive-thru or held indoors, a response to Phoenix's extreme summer heat. Many hand out a backpack stuffed with supplies, and some pair it with shoes, haircuts, free physicals, immunizations, or a box of groceries. The programs below are grouped by area, with a note on who each one serves and how to confirm the current year's details. There are also year round options, see our page about free clothes in Maricopa County.
Phoenix
Phoenix Tools 4 School (HeroZona Foundation)
Billed as Arizona's largest backpack giveaway, this is a drive-thru event for K-8 students — families stay in the car and supplies are handed through the window, keeping kids out of the heat. Each child receives a backpack filled with notebooks, writing supplies, and other basics, first-come, first-served, and the student must be present. The location has shifted between years (recent events have used Sun Valley Academy and the American Legion Post 65 in south Phoenix). https://www.herozona.org/ — Check the HeroZona site each summer, since both the date and the location have moved year to year.
Lerner & Rowe Gives Back
The Lerner & Rowe law firm runs a large indoor backpack giveaway in Phoenix each summer, typically at Grand Canyon University. Around a thousand backpacks stuffed with school supplies are handed out first-come, first-served to school-aged children, who must be present. Being indoors makes it one of the more comfortable options on a hot July afternoon. https://lernerandrowe.com/free-backpacks/ — Confirm the year's date and campus location before going; supplies run out quickly.
St. Vincent de Paul — Dream Center
SVdP holds an annual backpack giveaway out of its Family Dining Room in south Phoenix, often as a drive-thru with to-go meals handed out alongside the supplies. Beyond the one-day event, the Dream Center runs year-round after-school and summer education programs for low-income and homeless kids, including homework help and reading support. https://stvincentdepaul.net/ — Call ahead or check the site; the date and whether it runs as a drive-thru can change each year.
Phoenix Rescue Mission
1540 W Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ 85007 | (602) 233-3000
The Mission partners with local businesses on a back-to-school giveaway in the weeks before school starts, handing out backpacks, notebooks, pens and pencils, hygiene items, and some basic clothing for families across the Phoenix area. https://phoenixrescuemission.org/ — Supplies depend on donations each year; contact the Mission to confirm timing and any sign-up.
NourishPHX (formerly ICM Food & Clothing Bank)
501 S 9th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85007 | (602) 254-7450
A longtime central-Phoenix food pantry and clothing closet that runs a school-supply drive each summer, stuffing several hundred backpacks for local kids. Because it's open year-round on weekday mornings, it's also a place to pick up clothes and food once the seasonal events have passed. https://nourishphx.org/ — The backpack drive is seasonal; call to check current availability.
First Institutional Baptist Church / FIBCO Family Services
1141 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ 85034 | (602) 385-3900
Downtown Phoenix's historic First Institutional Baptist Church and its nonprofit, FIBCO Family Services, host a community Back to School Bash with free backpacks and supplies alongside food, games, and haircuts. FIBCO also runs year-round services for families facing homelessness, so it's a useful contact well beyond the summer event. https://www.fibcaz.org/ — The bash is an annual summer event; confirm the date and registration on the church site.
Salvation Army — Maricopa County
The Salvation Army's Phoenix-area service centers run seasonal back-to-school help — usually backpacks and supplies, sometimes clothing — out of multiple locations, with timing and eligibility set by each center. They also offer food, financial help, and low-cost Family Stores year-round. See our guide to Salvation Army assistance in Maricopa County. Contact your nearest center for current school-supply dates and any income requirements.
West Valley — Glendale, Maryvale, Tolleson
Vineyard North Phoenix (Glendale)
6250 W Peoria Ave, Glendale, AZ 85302 | (623) 934-4000
This Glendale church holds a first-come, first-served back-to-school giveaway with backpacks and supplies, and has paired it with free sports physicals — useful for families who also need the physical forms many schools require. The focus is on middle and high school students from lower-income and single-parent homes. https://vineyardnorthphoenix.com/backtoschool/ — Confirm the current year's date; physicals are offered while slots last.
Harvest Compassion Center
This volunteer-run network operates four free, mini-mart–style centers — in North Phoenix (4744 E Thunderbird Rd), West Phoenix (5608 N 27th Ave), Maryvale (4002 N 67th Ave), and Tolleson — where anyone living in Arizona can shop at no cost with no appointment. Alongside food, hygiene, and clothing, the shelves are stocked with school supplies, making it a dependable year-round option for notebooks, backpacks, and basics. https://harvestcompassioncenter.org/— Each location has its own limited morning hours; check the site before heading over.
East Valley — Mesa, Tempe, Chandler
Operation Back to School — For Our City Chandler
Chandler's largest back-to-school giveaway is run by the nonprofit For Our City Chandler, held at Compass Christian Church (1825 S Alma School Rd) the weekend before classes begin. Working with Chandler Unified's Title I schools, dozens of partners hand out backpacks, supplies, shoes, socks, underwear, uniforms, and haircuts. Because families line up in extreme heat, organizers run water and heat-relief stations with the city's fire and police departments. https://forourcitychandler.org/operation-back-to-school — Open to Chandler-area K-12 students; confirm the date and any check-in details each summer
Community Bridges (Mesa)
Community Bridges hosts a back-to-school giveaway in Mesa, often at the Inter-Stake Center, that goes well beyond supplies. Along with free backpacks for K-12 students, past events have bundled in haircuts, dental cleanings, sports physicals, and other health resources in a single stop. https://communitybridgesinc.org/ — Open to students across the community; check the site for the current date and which services will be on hand.
Tempe Community Action Agency — Threadz Teen Clothing Closet
1730 S Mill Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281 (second site at 6000 S Lakeshore Dr) | (480) 858-2300
Tempe Community Action helps students in the Tempe Union, Tempe Elementary, and Kyrene districts with free backpacks, school supplies, and clothing, including its Threadz closet aimed at teens. Personal-care and hygiene items are usually available too. https://tempeaction.org/ — For students in the served districts; call to confirm current eligibility and what's in stock.
Countywide programs and help for specific groups
Arizona Diamondbacks & Honeywell — Launch Back-to-School Backpack Program
Each July the Diamondbacks and Honeywell stuff thousands of backpacks with supplies and give them away across a series of events around the Valley. They frequently partner with school districts' McKinney-Vento programs (which serve students experiencing homelessness), newcomer schools for refugee and immigrant families, and community centers — so the events tend to reach families who might never hear about a smaller church drive. dbacks.com — Locations and dates vary across the series; check the Diamondbacks community page or ask your child's school.
The Foster Alliance (formerly Arizona Helping Hands)
Arizona's largest provider of essentials for the foster community, this Phoenix nonprofit gives children in foster care a new backpack filled with school supplies and keeps backpacks stocked at its resource center through the back-to-school season and beyond. Foster and kinship families and their advocates can shop in person. https://thefosteralliance.org/ — For licensed foster and kinship families; bring documentation and check current resource-center hours.
Treasures 4 Teachers
Aimed at educators rather than families, Treasures 4 Teachers runs membership-based resource centers in Tempe (3025 S 48th St) and West Phoenix (3802 N 91st Ave) where teachers can pick up free and low-cost classroom supplies, plus a mobile program that brings supplies to Title I teachers across Maricopa County. https://treasures4teachers.org/ — For teachers and others who work with students; a low annual membership is required.
Assistance League of Phoenix — Operation School Bell
Operation School Bell provides new school clothing and supplies to children living in poverty, distributed through a school-referral system rather than a public event — a counselor, nurse, or social worker makes the referral. Ask your child's school whether it partners with Operation School Bell.
Maricopa County school districts
Many districts run their own back-to-school assistance or partner with Operation School Bell for enrolled families in need, with items like backpacks, supplies, socks, and uniforms. Districts that have participated include Alhambra, Cartwright, Creighton, Washington Elementary, Glendale Elementary, Isaac, Osborn, Roosevelt, Balsz, Phoenix Elementary, Scottsdale, and Tolleson, among others. Call your district's family-resource or Title I office, or your child's school, for current programs.
Scottsdale and the northwest Valley
City of Scottsdale — Vista del Camino
7700 E Roosevelt St, Scottsdale, AZ 85257 | (480) 312-2323
Scottsdale's Vista del Camino community center runs a back-to-school program for Scottsdale residents in need, providing backpacks, supplies, shoes, and socks for K-12 students, and at times laptops or Chromebooks. Scottsdale residents only; contact the center to confirm current-year requirements.
City of Surprise — Back 2 School community fair
In the northwest Valley, the City of Surprise has hosted an annual back-to-school community fair that pairs school supplies with kids' haircuts, snacks, and health resources. surpriseaz.gov — A city-run summer event; confirm the date and location on the city site.
Still need help?
If you've worked through the options above and the summer events have passed, dialing 2-1-1 connects you with 2-1-1 Arizona (website: https://211arizona.org/), a free statewide referral line that tracks smaller, neighborhood church drives and community events that don't get much publicity. It's best used as a backup once the larger giveaways are over or supplies have run low.
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