Healthy Meals for Hungry Kids

Last month the director of the Austin office of the Texas Department of Agriculture's summer food service program contacted our parent organization, Central Dallas Ministries, to ask if they would be willing to extend their participation in this program into Austin. Because of budget cutbacks this year, the City of Austin (specifically the Parks & Rec. Dept.) is cutting back on the number of feeding sites they're able to administer in Austin from 84 to 14. (That's a major cutback!) Let me explain what this means.

Every year the Texas Dept. of Agriculture offers a summer feeding program in neighborhoods where at least half the kids qualify for the free and reduced lunch program in the schools. For hungry kids from low-income families this program is a wonderful blessing. However, it requires a tremendous amount of coordination and collaboration to make it happen. Just ask Sonia White, the Director of Nurture, Knowledge and Nutrition for Central Dallas Ministries, whose program in Dallas is legendary for feeding thousands of kids at over 100 sites throughout the year.

So Sonia asked if we would be willing to embark on this project in Austin. Presently, that involves administering about 12-15 feeding sites all over the city that have the potential of offering almost 20,000 meals before the summer is over. And at least one of those sites would be in our own neighborhood. This program also has the potential for expansion in Austin the way it has in Dallas over the last four years. We are grateful for this opportunity to bridge the gap for hungry kids in Austin that might not otherwise enjoy the "three square meals a day" that most of us take for granted.

The free and reduced lunch program began with the realization that it's hard to teach a hungry child. Urban Connection - Austin is participating in this summer feeding program because we recognize it's hard to reach families in neighborhoods where children are hungry and we do nothing to relieve it. If we are to fulfill our mission to "show the love of God in word, action and attitude" we cannot turn away when the children we're attempting to serve don't have enough to eat. It's the only way to "build genuine community in the neighborhoods where we live and work." It's also the only way to "love your neighbor as you love yourself." Won't you help us keep that commitment this summer and fulfill God's command? Just click the DONATE icon on this website and pledge whatever you can to help.