POTEET, Texas — Right now, one small business is getting ready to give back to their community. The Backyard Kitchen in Poteet will be hosting their third annual Backpack 4 Burgers event on Saturday.
Folks can bring a backpack filled with school supplies and earn a free burger meal.
"To be able to give it back now is just is probably the biggest blessing," Brad Stelzig, owner of the Backyard Kitchen, said.
Since 2021, Brad and Destiny Stelzig, of the Backyard Kitchen have been hosting the event, in an effort to help ease the load on families as the start of the school year nears. This year, Brad said the number of students who registered nearly doubled from the previous year.
"This is this is definitely the most sign ups that we've had since since the first year. I believe, [there] were 225 plus right now," Brad said.
The event is free, and will feature music and water slides. The City of Poteet, Poteet Chamber of Commerce, and other small businesses have also gotten involved.
"We're forever grateful. They don't have to do that," Brad said.
Giving back is important to the Stelzig family, as they know what it’s like to ask for help.
"We were working at a, you know, $12 an hour job, not really, you know, just kind of going through life," Stelzig said. "From 2019, you know, we were the ones that were asking for backpacks. We were the ones that were asking for donations."
With two kids of their own, the couple moved to Poteet more than ten years ago from San Antonio, with the idea of opening their own restaurant. They did so in 2020, as the pandemic began.
"We started we started with the dollar in a dream. And you can ask anybody about that," Brad said.
The Stelzigs said the folks of Atascosa county welcomed them into their community, wholeheartedly.
"There's there's nothing that we wouldn't do for our little town," Brad said. They want to do what they can to give back. The words "community over everything" are written on the event banner.
"Whenever we can all come together and do things together, it just makes us that much more powerful," Brad added.
Backpacks for burgers is set for July 29th, from 11 a.m. To 2 p.m. at Poteet Canyon Park.