No More Trash Bags for Children in Foster Care

As the saying goes, it's the little things that matter. For children in foster care, daily life is marked by constant change and a fragile sense of belonging. Over a third of children and youth in foster care experience two or more moves each year, and with each move, safety and stability feel further out of reach.

Too often, transitions mean that every possession is hastily packed into a trash bag. It may seem like a practical solution—urgency, limited time, and scarce resources—but what they carry their belongings in is just as important as what goes into them. Trash bags, items most of us associate with discard and disposability, inadvertently send the painful message that these children’s lives, and their belongings, don’t matter.

But what do you do when compassion meets the reality of budget constraints?

Limited Resources for Children in Foster Care

Understandably, child welfare budgets face the immense challenge of meeting urgent needs with limited resources. Housing, safety, and healthcare take priority. That urgency, however, often sidelines “non-essential” items like luggage, despite its emotional importance. The result? A child may arrive at a new foster home carrying their belongings in a black trash bag, an experience many describe as deeply dehumanizing, reinforcing feelings of low self-esteem and isolation.

But limited budgets aren’t the only reason trash bags are used. The foster care system is dynamic, and frequent moves that require quick rehoming are common. Trash bags are cheap, waterproof, and readily available. Finding luggage at scale is difficult, especially with departmental staffing shortages, and there aren’t enough donations of luggage to meet the needs of every child in foster care. While some states, including Oregon, Texas, and most recently, New York, have even enacted legislation guaranteeing proper luggage for children in foster care, many have not.

How You Can Make a Difference

Although government resources for foster care may be stretched thin, that doesn’t mean there isn't an opportunity to make a difference. Here are just a few things you can do to support a foster child in need:

·       Donate Gently Used Luggage: Clean out your closets and donate functional luggage to organizations supporting the foster care system.

·       Donate a New Bag: Purchase a backpack or duffel bag from My Bag My Story, and a brand-new bag will be donated to a child in foster care.

·       Raise Awareness: Share the realities foster children face and help others understand why something as simple as a bag matters.

·       Advocate for Change: With nearly 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S., the policies governing foster care have a significant impact on our communities. Encourage lawmakers in your area to support legislation that mandates the discontinuation of the use of trash bags during the rehoming process.

Together, we can end the cycle of indignity and shame for children in foster care. #EndTheTrashBag.