Volunteers with the Oakland Unified School District prepare packages at a meals site.

Grants

A big part of what we do at No Kid Hungry is providing grants to schools and community groups across the country so they can afford what they need to feed kids. 

“We’re just trying anything we can do to help feed these kids,” said Christine Clarahan, a school nutrition director in Indiana whose team received No Kid Hungry grants to help serve breakfast and lunch three times a week to 2,400 students. “It is worth it when you see the kids’ smiles or the relief on the parents’ faces.”
 


No Kid Hungry grants are rarely used to buy food. The actual food served by public schools and community programs is paid for, partly, through the fees paid by students and by the federal government, which reimburses schools for the costs of the meals they serve.

But running a successful meals program requires more than food. School cafeterias and community centers need equipment like refrigerators and coolers. If a school serves breakfast in the classroom, they need carts and cooler bags to deliver the meals. During the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of school meals programs suddenly needed all kinds of equipment, from delivery trucks to protective gear for workers to packaging for delivery meals.

These are the kinds of items No Kid Hungry helps pay for through our grants.