June 10, 2019
Contact: Kathy Green, 512-551-3470, kgreen@strength.org
Austin, TX – No Kid Hungry Texas has awarded $86,730 in grants to support free summer meal sites across the state. Eleven organizations received funding through the nonprofit’s latest round of grants.
For many kids, summer is the hungriest time of year. When schools close for the summer, school meals disappear as well. The federal Summer Meals program connects children to the nutrition they need during the summer months. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture and served by organizations families trust, like schools, libraries, faith-based organizations and community groups, these meals make sure kids have access to healthy meals when school is out of session.
Only about 8.2% of Texas kids who rely on free or reduced-price school lunches are also getting free meals through summer programs. The latest round of funding will help sites across the state expand and improve programs to reach more youth during the summer months.
“Too many kids in Texas miss out on healthy meals during the summer months,” said No Kid Hungry Texas State Director Kathy Green. “Summer meals help ensure all our kids have happy, healthy summers so they can return to the classroom in the fall prepared and ready to learn.”
The following school districts and community organizations received funding in the latest round of No Kid Hungry Texas summer grants:
- Buckner Children and Family Services – $5,000
- Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley – $15,900
- CitySquare – $7,338
- Houston Food Bank – $5,000
- Laredo Independent School District – $8,460
- McAllen Independent School District – $10,000
- Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District – $6,500
- Preservation of Life Inc. – $5,000
- South Texas Juvenile Diabetes Association – $8,832
- Triangle Community Outreach – $10,000
- Wichita Falls Area Food Bank – $4,700
Families can text FOOD or COMIDA to 877-877 and type in a zip code to find the nearest summer meals sites, along with operating days and times. This information populates once local schools are out of session and sites are up and running. No application or registration is required at sites. No Kid Hungry organizes the texting service and updates the information weekly. Locations are also available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks.
Summer hunger can have a long-term impact on a child’s health, ability to learn and general well-being. No Kid Hungry and its partners focus on connecting kids to the national Summer Meals Program as a critical way to end childhood hunger.