Over the past year, with the support of people like you, we have helped millions of kids across the United States receive the meals they need to thrive and be happy.
What keeps us going is the smiles of the kids with full bellies. Today we share our favorite moments from 2021.
A Party in Rialto, California
With the support of donors we helped thousands of school districts with the equipment and technical assistance they needed to provide meals to kids during school closures and the summer months. The Rialto Unified School District in California wanted to make a scary and isolating experience felt fun for families and to recreate the sense of community the kids were missing from school.
Fausat Rahman-Davis, the head of food services at the district, created a culture in which each drive-thru food distribution was a happy event, with music, dancing and ensuring the best quality of food. Here, a group of kids express their gratitude to Rialto’s nutrition staff and to No Kid Hungry. See more about these fun distribution events here.
Helping Families in West Palm Beach, Florida
Your support has a very real impact on families who may experience challenging moments. This past year and a half was difficult for Jose Carranza and his family. When his wife Liliana was unable to continue working due to the pandemic, Jose had to find a second job to keep his family afloat. This meant sacrificing some time with his 6-year-old daughter, Sophia.
But school meals have been a blessing in these challenging times. Sophia has always had food on the table and continues to spread optimism and happiness to her parents. Read more about Jose’s family.
Fueling Dreams in New York City
Charlie is a happy and active nine-year-old kid in New York City. “I have energy all day every day,” he shared.
Like hundreds of kids in New York City, Charlie's family experienced a difficult time with the ongoing pandemic. With the help of organizations supported by No Kid Hungry, thousands of kids in New York were able to receive the meals they needed to continue fueling their dreams.
Charlie was also able to share his dreams for rebuilding after the pandemic with muralist John P, Desserau who, inspired by this and other conversations with kids, created a mural in Citi Field. Learn more about this campaign that took place in five cities.
A Happy Summer in Caroline County, Md.
When you think of summer, you probably imagine kids enjoying the outdoors, running around with their friends or playing in the swimming pool. However, for many kids, summer can be a challenging time because many lose easy access to school meals.
With your support, Caroline County School District purchased a van to deliver meals and local produce to families in their rural community, so kids could continue smiling through the summer. Here Faye Harris, who works at one of the school’s cafeterias, picks up some meals with her grandson, Noah.
A Forever Medicine for Our Babies in Flint, Michigan
Early childhood is a critical period for the development of children. Not having adequate food can have lasting impacts in the overall health, behavior and school readiness for kids. That’s why this yea, No Kid Hungry has invested $3 million in grants to organizations focused on early childhood.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Atisha understands the importance of nutrition as a forever medicine, especially for kids impacted by lead poisoning during the Flint water crisis. With your help, she expanded clinic-based fruit and vegetable prescription programs and helped build the delivery of produce boxes to families with children under six. Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s youngest patients can continue smiling. Learn more about our early childhood work.
Healthy Meals in Rural Georgia
Rural communities have a particular set of both challenges and strengths to face childhood hunger. As part of our efforts to support rural communities, we created No Kid Hungry’s Promising Practices to End Rural Child Hunger Initiative, which supports nine rural organizations and also creates a space where they can exchange innovative ideas to support children.
Quality Care for Children supports early childcare centers by building gardens and connecting with local farmers, providing kids with healthy meals. Many children in rural communities not only got to try fruits and veggies for the first time, they also became ambassadors, teaching their parents about healthy meals. Read more about this initiative.
Always a Smile in Fontana, California
Ms. Lola is the kind of cafeteria leader you’ll never forget. When schools were closed, she was there at five in the morning every day to make sure kids received the meals they needed.
Now that school is open, kids get to see Ms. Lola’s smile once again - even if it’s behind a mask. With your help, the Fontana Unified School District provided meals to kids during the pandemic and is expanding its school breakfast program.
Young Leaders across the Nation
Our youth ambassador program connects local organizations with young leaders to support their efforts to feed kids.
In the tenth year of this paid internship, we recruited 27 youth ambassadors who supported meal distributions and helped families sign up for government meal assistance programs like SNAP. Rachel Bedford invites kids and teens to receive free summer meals in Alabama. Learn more about our youth ambassadors.
Smiles from our Champions
One of the biggest barriers for families is the lack of knowledge about free meal sites near them. In an effort to reach families and teach them about summer meals, we promoted our texting line and free meal finder map.
Here our National Spokesfamily Ayesha and Stephen Curry helped us spread the word about summer meals. The Currys are all in on ending childhood hunger. Their Eat. Learn. Play Foundation partners with No Kid Hungry so kids in Oakland get the three meals a day they need.
A Coalition of Chefs Advocating for Children
Chefs and restaurateurs are in the business of feeding people and caring for others. For years, they have been some of our biggest supporters. During the pandemic and with your support, they fed families and raised awareness for hungry kids.
In April of this year, they also gathered virtually to prepare for meetings with elected officials in Congress and advocate for permanent improvements to summer meal programs. These advocacy efforts have been going since 2014. Read more.
Thank you for helping us create these smiles for millions of kids. Without your help, this wouldn't have been possible and the impact you’re having in their lives matters. Today, 1 in 6 kids could be living with hunger in the US, but together we can create even more smiles - and ensure no kid has to be hungry.
