At No Kid Hungry, we want every kid to have a full belly and a bright smile all year long. From emergency responses to grab-and-go summer meals, join us on a journey through our favorite stories from 2025 to see how we work to ensure our dream becomes a reality.
Support for Los Angeles Fire Victims
Early this year, the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in California ravaged neighborhoods and destroyed thousands of homes. When natural disasters like this occur, kids are more likely to go hungry as school closures and displacement increase the chance of losing access to nutritious meals.
In response to this disaster, we created the No Kid Hungry LA Wildfire Response Fund to provide immediate and long-term assistance to our partners in California. With our support, school districts and local organizations have the resources to make sure no kid misses a meal during this period of recovery.
Billy Shore, our founder and executive chair, visited California in early January. While witnessing volunteers handing out meals, first responders fighting the fires and the community coming together to help, he reflected: “It was a reminder not only that everyone has the strength to share, but everyone has a strength they want and need to share.”
Our Continued Advocacy for SNAP
In July, Congress passed massive cuts to SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by increasing work requirements, slashing grocery benefits and reinforcing bureaucratic red tape. When combined with increasing costs of living, it is now harder for families to purchase nutritious foods.
No Kid Hungry has continued to advocate for the protection and improvement of SNAP in light of these federal changes. Because when kids have access to nutritious food, they experience better health and education outcomes – which creates a stronger, more resilient America for us all.
For instance, Ohio’s SNAP program supports Patrick’s pursuit of an electrician’s license so he and his wife can provide a better future for their children. His kids’ financial and physical health are bolstered by resources, like the grocery benefits program, which gets them closer to achieving the American dream.
“[Now, my kids are] not going hungry. That’s for sure,” he explained. His kids are happier and healthier with the groceries they buy with SNAP. “My youngest used to have breathing problems, but since we’ve been able to afford healthier food, we haven’t had to rush to the ER. That’s huge for us.”
No Kid Hungry Went to the Stock Exchange
We gathered at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in early May to launch our campaign to end summer hunger. Partners like Citi, Blue Meridian Partners, Ballmer Group, Kaiser Permanente and others are helping us connect kids to healthy meals during the summer. Attendees also included CEOs of iconic brands who signed our CEO Pledge to End Summer Hunger.
“All kids deserve a joyful summer, free from hunger,” said Anne Filipic, our CEO. “It’s inspiring to see so many leaders, including CEOs of some of America’s biggest brands, standing with us, united in a shared vision where all our children have the food they need to thrive during the summer months and all year long.”
Fueling Up Kids During the Summer
Summer is the hungriest time of the year for millions of kids and families who rely on schools to receive nutritious meals. This summer, No Kid Hungry supported organizations that provide grab-and-go summer meals in rural communities and Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) programs to help more families feel full and fueled for all the activities summer has to offer.
Grab-and-go programs weren’t possible before the pandemic because families were previously required to eat on site. This created accessibility barriers for working families or families without reliable transportation. With our continued advocacy, flexible-dining programs make summer meals more accessible for families living in rural areas like Jamestown, NY.
Jordan Spence, a mom of three, said the grab-and-go meals help her and her husband manage demanding work schedules and higher food costs. “I only have a half-hour lunch break, so it's not like I have a lot of time to sit and wait for my kids to finish eating, and then get back to work,” Spence said.
Summer EBT programs are an additional lifeline for families. During the summer, the state-sanctioned grocery program provides $120 per child for income eligible families.
Joelanis Kercado-Martes said the benefits ensure her kids have healthy meals and help them save for the future. “You know, the world is becoming very expensive,” Kercado-Martes said. “If it wasn't for the summer EBT benefits that you guys are distributing to our family, we probably would have never made it. Me and my family are grateful.”
Empowering Single Moms
At No Kid Hungry, we believe that addressing the challenges faced by single moms is essential to ending childhood hunger in the United States. 35% of households led by single mothers face food insecurity—the highest percentage among any household type. We know helping single moms will help millions of kids get the food they need to thrive, so we organized our second Bridge Builders Summit in May to collaborate with over 40 partner organizations that work to improve single mothers’ economic mobility.
Our Family Economic Mobility program will continue to host similar events and make transformative investments that will empower single mothers and ensure their kids have the food and resources they need to live and achieve their dreams.
Results from Our First Back to School Report
No Kid Hungry released our first Back to School Report in September. We surveyed more than 1,200 parents and caregivers across America to provide insight into their hopes and concerns for the upcoming school year. We learned parents are most concerned about keeping their students’ bellies full this year as they continue to deal with the increasing costs of living. But we also learned that school meal programs help mitigate these worries, and as a result, set kids up for future success, strengthen families and build more connected and thriving communities.
Here are some highlights from the report:
- 55% of parents reported that rising food costs due to inflation has made it difficult to buy all the food they would normally buy
- 2 in 3 parents worry that food prices will continue to go up
- 88% of parents report that school meals help their children do better in school
Looking ahead to 2026
As the results from the survey show, families are worried about feeding their kids due to the rising food prices and recent government decisions to cut essential programs like SNAP and WIC. Your support matters more than ever to ensure kids and their families get the food they need to stay smiling as they face these challenges. No matter what the future holds, we at No Kid Hungry will always be committed to ending childhood hunger.
