Over 70 community partners will help provide an estimated 240,000 meals to children now through August
AUSTIN, TX — As schools close for the summer, thousands of Central Texas children lose access to the free and reduced-price meals they rely on during the school year. With one in four children in the region facing hunger, the Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) is significantly expanding its Summer Meals Program to help families navigate a season of increased need.
Now through early August, CTFB plans to provide more than 240,000 meals to over 4,000 children through a network of 70 nonprofit community partners. The program includes free prepared meals served on-site at community locations, along with meal box distributions in rural communities where transportation and barriers to food access often make it harder for families to get food.
"Summer brings additional financial pressure for many families as grocery, childcare, and utility costs increase while school meals are unavailable," said Sari Vatske, President and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank. "Our Summer Meals Program helps ensure children continue to have access to nutritious food throughout the summer months so they can play, laugh, and focus on being kids, while ensuring they can return to a successful new school year."
Research shows that when children lack consistent access to nutritious food, it can affect their physical health, mental well-being, and development.
The Summer Meals Program helps create stability for families during a season when many household budgets are stretched thin. By providing reliable access to nutritious food, the program supports children's health and well-being while school is out of session.
Families can find a complete list of summer meal and meal box distribution sites by visiting centraltexasfoodbank.org/sfsp, or by clicking the Summer Meals banner at the top of the CTFB homepage.
