Sarah Mead
Contributing Writer
smead@murraystate.edu
Emily Shepherd
Contributing Writer
eshepherd2@murraystate.edu
Adventurist Backpack Co. has partnered with the University Bookstore to sell backpacks and support Murray’s food insecure students and families.
Kelly Belknap and Matilda Sandstroem, a married couple based in Colorado, founded Adventurist Backpack Co. to create what they believe to be the world’s greatest backpack. Sandstroem and Belknap wanted to design a backpack that was high quality, minimalist in design and could retail for less than $100.
“When Matilda and I were searching for backpacks that we could use for school, travel and nights out, but we couldn’t seem to find a high quality and fashionable backpack that was also affordable, most of them ranging from $100-150 and upwards,” Belknap said. “We decided to design our own, using minimalist elements from Matilda’s home country Sweden, as well as high quality all-weather materials fit for all adventures.”
The backpacks are currently available for sale in the University Bookstore. They can also be found at Urban Outfitters and on the Adventurist Backpack Co. website.
“We received an email advertisement on the Adventurist backpacks and decided it would be a great fit for our University,” Christy Dudley, assistant director of softgoods for the bookstore, said.
Adventurist Backpack Co. is not just about selling backpacks. The company is dedicated to giving back to local communities.
“We were traveling all around the world, all throughout South America and Europe, and we were wanting to do random acts of kindness,” Belknap said. “We would go to the supermarket, buy food that we could pack into individual meals, and whenever we saw someone in need throughout the day, we would take these bags of food and we would give them to whomever was in need.”
When they returned to the United States, they wanted to continue their giving. Adventurist Backpack Co. partnered with Feeding America and local food charities to support Americans in need.
“When the Adventurist Backpack Co. approached us, they expressed how they wanted to give back, they wanted to be involved in the fight to end hunger,” a Feeding America Representative said.
Every backpack sold provides 25 meals to local families. Currently, they have provided nearly 100,000 meals to families across the United States. They have also partnered with universities across the country to support food insecure students.
“I’m a recent college grad,” Belknap said. “While I was [in school] I had friends who experienced food insecurity. They went to school full time and worked full time to pay the rent and feed themselves while going to school. ”
The outreach to local communities is slated to continue at Murray State. Adventurist Backpack Co. has partnered with Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland to provide resources to food insecure students and families in the Murray area.
“College students are essentially helping themselves by getting an education and we wanted to give those who needed help the best opportunity to succeed in their classes and to better themselves,” Belknap said.
The company’s goal is to provide 250,000 meals by their third year of business.
“We believe that it is every company’s responsibility to give back in order to solve basic problems around our country, and around the world,” Belknap said. “We aim to be at the forefront of brands using business to do something larger than just provide a great product or service, but to help change the world for the better through entrepreneurship.”