Kids’ Meals is the nation's only home meal delivery program targeting preschoolers.
The group says Houston has the second highest rate for childhood hunger in the country.
Every weekday, volunteers prepare 2,700 meals.
"It’s heartbreaking to see, making these meals you realize how good we have it sometimes, and it’s just phenomenal that we can help this way,” says Sajeev Mehta, one of the volunteers.
"We go about our daily lives and we don't realize there's pockets of poverty all over the city where children are really suffering. They're born into poverty, they don't have the chance that other kids have,” says Beth Harp, Kids’ Meals Executive Director.
The program serves the kids who are most at risk. The ones too young to be in school and don't have the benefit of school lunch programs. Their rapidly developing bodies suffer the greatest impact from hunger.
"Kids that aren’t getting the nutrition that they need are gonna start school behind," says Harp.
On one particular morning, they delivered food to families living in a mobile home park in north Houston.
Three-year-old Abigail and her 2-year-old brother Robert are waiting, along with their mother, Rubeli Elizondo.
"If we didn’t have this, the kids would probably not eat something like a snack or something during a day, so it’s a good help,” says Elizondo.
In 12 years, Kids’ Meals has delivered more than 5 million meals in Houston. They rely on donations and volunteers. In fact, they need 20 volunteers a day to make those meals.
If you’d like to help contact Kids’ Meals on their website: www.kidsmealshouston.org.
