Innovators Reaching Hungry Kids Where They Are

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan (Flint,MI): plans to plans to deploy 20 Mobile Food Pantries to reach kids in underserved communities and increase awareness of a full range of programs and services. The Food Bank will distribute information about summer meals and Kids Cafe programs to inform more needy families about the availability of nutritious meals in the summer and afterschool. The Food Bank also plans to establish a new summer meals program and will encourage participation through its Mobile Food program. The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan distributed 18.6 million pounds of food and personal care items last year in 22 Michigan counties.

HomeFront (Lawrenceville, NJ: provides transportation, education and recreational programs for homeless children and helps homeless families overcome challenges in qualifying for school lunch and food stamps. HomeFront will expand the reach of its emergency food program by using the funds to fill grocery bags with fresh, nutrient-rich foods for needy families and to provide meals and snacks to homeless children who participate in their afterschool program or live in the emergency shelter. The funds will also support a fleet of buses and vans to transport parents and children to program sites, where a snack or a meal is served. HomeFront plans to serve more than 128,000 meals to homeless to children this year.

Portland Parks Foundation will take its popular mobile Rock Climbing Wall to the city’s neediest and most underserved neighborhoods to attract kids and serve them healthy meals. The program, “Reaching New Heights,” offers youth the opportunity to improve their strength and motor skills while building self-confidence, trust, and cooperation. While the wall engages kids, the critical benefit is the free lunch that accompanies it. The foundation plans to expand into remote neighborhoods in outer east Portland where need is high and children are unable to access other food programs. Working with Portland Public Schools, Portland Parks & Recreation staff will be trained to distribute the summer meals in three remote neighborhoods.

Voting ends June 20 for nominees in the Making Connections category. Cast your vote today and help an innovative program win a $25,000 No Kid Hungry Innovation award for finding and feeding hard to reach kids.