Happy holidays from No Kid Hungry South Carolina! This holiday season, we are taking time to reflect on the last twelve months and the steps we have taken towards ending childhood hunger in South Carolina. From Greenville to Charleston and all in between, there are school nutrition professionals, community members, and other supporters working to make sure every child gets the food they need to play, learn, and grow. Please join us on a trip down memory lane, celebrating some of our favorite highlights from 2024.
No Kid Hungry South Carolina Grants
In 2024, No Kid Hungry South Carolina granted $251,578 to 13 schools and community organizations. These grant dollars helped to expand rural non-congregate summer meals in the state. To read more about our grantees’ innovative approaches to improving food security, check out stories on our blog.
Rural Non-Congregate Summer Meal Expansion
Summer meals haven’t been reaching all the children and young people who experience food insecurity. One of the greatest barriers towards summer meals participation, especially in rural areas, is transportation. If parents work during the day, children may be unable to get to the locations where meals and activities happen. Non-congregate models like grab & go pick-up or delivery allow children to eat at home and provide more flexibility and support to families. Summer 2024 was the second year that rural non-congregate models were available to summer meals sponsors in South Carolina. This summer, SFSP and SSO sponsors served over 3.7 million summer meals, with a large portion of those meals being served through rural non-congregate programs, helping children and families access summer meals more easily. No Kid Hungry South Carolina supports summer meals sponsors through technical assistance, grant funds, and best practices research. You can read more about some of our summer success stories here.
Finally, we want to reiterate our thanks for you and your support. To our partners, policymakers, community organizations, school nutrition staff, state agencies, and other supporters, none of this work can be accomplished without our shared commitment to make No Kid Hungry a reality. Thank you for working tirelessly to ensure kids have the food they need to dream of a brighter and more caring future. We wish you a happy and healthy 2025!