Hunger Initiative Offers Kids Free Summer Meals

Kids Eat FREE Summer Meal program, a project of Tom Green County Hunger Coalition and sponsored by the Texas Hunger Initiative -San Angelo Region, will offer free lunch during July and August in various neighborhoods. Churches, nonprofit organizations, businesses and many volunteers partner to provide the meals and service for this program.  If interested in volunteering contact [email protected] or call 374-1443.

“For many kids, summertime means food, friends and fun. For families who count on school breakfast and lunch, however, the summer months can be stressful and family food budgets have to be stretched even further,” said Betty Teston, Child Hunger Outreach Specialist.  “During the summer, kids can also lose out on several months of learning and physical activity that they would normally get at school.”

The Kids Eat FREE Summer Meal Program offers free lunch meals to all kids and teens ages 18 and younger during the months of July and August.  Almost 60% of all students in Tom Green County qualify for free and reduced-price meals during the school year.   Since 2010, the goal for Kids Eat FREE has been to feed more children during the summer when school was not in session.

Summertime should be a stress-free time for parents and kids, full of food, friends and fun. Free Lunch can help. Families can visit www.sanangelohunger.org, call 211 to find the nearest meal site.

Program details:

• Meals are FREE to children and teens ages 18 and youngerwho come to a Kids Eat FREE site
• Many sites offer educational and recreational activities for kids of all ages to participate in so they can eat, hang out with friends and take part in activities offered
• Parents don’t need to apply to the program to get a free summer meal for their kids. They can just bring their child to a Kids Eat FREE site in their neighborhood

About Texas Hunger Initiative

The Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) is a capacity-building and collaborative project, housed in the Baylor University School of Social Work that seeks to develop and implement strategies to end hunger through policy, education, community organizing and community development. THI seeks to make the state food secure by ensuring that every individual has access to three healthy meals a day, seven days a week. THI convenes federal, state and local government stakeholders with non-profits, faith communities and business leaders to create an efficient system of accountability that increases food security in Texas.