Summer Meals Are Growing Across Alabama: Meet the Sponsors Expanding Access for Kids This Year

Summer should be a time for kids to learn, play, and enjoy their break from school. But for many families across Alabama, summer can also bring challenges when school meals are no longer available.

That’s why No Kid Hungry Alabama is working alongside local schools and community organizations to help ensure children continue to have access to healthy meals throughout the summer months.

This year, No Kid Hungry Alabama is supporting 9 summer meal sponsors with over $163,272 in grant funds as they expand rural non-congregate summer meal service in communities across the state. These sponsors are helping reach more children in rural areas through innovative approaches such as additional grab-and-go meal distributions, extended meal delivery routes, and multi-day meal pickups that make it easier for families to access food where they live.

The following organizations are receiving support this year:

• Cleburne County Schools
• Community Caring Hands Foundation Inc.
• Crenshaw County 
• DeKalb County Schools
• Feeding the Gulf Coast – Alabama 
• Haleyville City Schools 
• Oxford City Schools
• Piedmont City Schools 
• Winston County Schools

While every community’s approach looks different, each sponsor shares the same goal: making sure more kids have access to nutritious meals all summer long.

See How Sponsors Are Expanding Summer Meals This Year

Across Alabama, our grantees are finding new ways to reach more children, serve additional communities, and strengthen existing programs. Here are just a few examples of what that expansion looks like this summer.

DeKalb County Schools

DeKalb County Schools is expanding its non-congregate meal service all over DeKalb county. As a first time rural non-congregate sponsor, the district is launching summer meal service from two sites with plans to expand operations in the future. One site will distribute 10-day meal packs through curbside and walk-up service, while a hybrid site will offer daily congregate meals alongside rural non-congregate weekend meal packs.

To support their program’s implementation, DeKalb County Schools is investing in key infrastructure needed to operate a large-scale rural non-congregate program. The district purchased a pallet stacker to efficiently unload and move meal shipments, addressing logistical challenges at sites. Additionally, the district is partnering with trusted community members to help connect Hispanic families to summer meal resources and reach even more children in their community.

Community Caring Hands Foundation, Inc.

As another sponsor growing its summer meal operations, Community Caring Hands Foundation, Inc. is working to increase access for children in Dothan, Alabama. As a first time SFSP and rural non-congregate sponsor, Community Caring Hands Foundation, Inc. is launching a summer meals program to reach a community that has historically lacked access to summer meals. This program will bring meals directly to underserved communities through curbside pickup, mobile routes, and home delivery. Community Caring Hands is also partnering with local mobile home park management to distribute meals where children already live, helping reduce transportation barriers. No Kid Hungry Alabama is excited to support their program with equipment that makes it easier to reach more parts of the community.

Crenshaw County

Another example of summer meal expansion is the work of Crenshaw County. As a returning summer meals sponsor, the organization is expanding both curbside meal distribution and home delivery services to better reach children in Crenshaw County’s rural communities. Many families are located 45 minutes to an hour from the nearest school meal site, home delivery remains a critical strategy for ensuring children can access nutritious meals throughout the summer.

This summer, Crenshaw County was able to use grant funds to purchase a van to transport meals across three service sites. Thanks to Crenshaw County’s program, families will be able to receive 10-day meal packs through both curbside pickup and home delivery.