Services, Family, Children, Recreation, Kid's Cafe Program (Youth) available at High Plains Food Bank

In Savannah, Georgia in 1989, two young brothers were discovered late one night in the kitchen of their housing project's community center. When asked why they had broken in, the oldest boy replied, "to feed myself and my little brother."

In response to this glaring example of childhood hunger in their local community, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia started the first Kids Cafe. Kids Cafe is the nation's largest charitable meal service program exclusively for needy children. It is a program of America's Second Harvest, The Nation's Food Bank Network and is sponsored by ConAgra Foods "Feeding Children Better Foundation". Founded in 1993, there are currently 130 America's Second Harvest food banks and food rescue organizations operating more than 1,600 Kids Cafe sites, serving more than 13 million meals and snacks each year to children in 42 states and Washington D.C.

For many children in the Texas Panhandle, hunger is a frightening reality faced daily. Over 54% of all children enrolled in the Amarillo Independent School District are eligible for free or reduced meals.

The Food Bank supplies the food and funds as well as the cook needed to prepare the meals. The member agencies provide the facility and kitchen for the meals, and volunteers serve the meals to the kids.

In 2005, America's Second Harvest, The Nation's Food Bank Network conducted a Hunger Study across the United States. Of the households surveyed with children under the age of 18 in the Texas Panhandle, it found that over 36% of children are hungry. Of those surveyed, 83% of households with children under 18 in the Texas Panhandle are food insecure. Through our Kids Cafe programs and your support, we are taking on this growing problem.

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