Along with notebooks and crayons, calculators and USB drives, the kids got a gift card to buy shoes to start the school year.
It's the fourth annual backpack giveaway program and organizers say the need was greater than ever before.
"We've not seen this level of need. We've seen a lot of families that have not come to us before but that's a reflection of what's happening in our economy and cuts to the school system," Pancho Guevara from Sacred Heart Community said.
All the families at the backpack giveaway registered last month with Sacred Heart Community Service.
On Saturday, kids from families in San Francisco's Bayview and the Western Addition neighborhoods will get free school supplies.
Organizers expect to distribute 4,500 backpacks on a first come first served basis.
San Francisco Event:
Saturday, August 14
Bayview District:
11 a.m. -3 p.m
Bayview Opera House
3705 Third St.
San Francisco, CA
Western Addition:
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ella Hill Hutch Community Center
1050 McAllister St.
San Francisco, CA
