Kids Cafe
In Savannah, GA in 1989, two young brothers were discovered late one night in the kitchen of their housing project's community center after the older brother broke into the kitchen to feed himself and his younger brother.
In response to this glaring example of child hunger, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia started the first Kids Cafe. In 1993, Feeding America (formerly named America's Second Harvest) launched the national Kids Cafe program.
Kids Cafe programs provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of existing community locations where children congregate such as Boys and Girls Clubs, churches or public schools. In addition to providing meals to hungry kids, all Kids Cafe programs also offer a safe place, where under the supervision of trustworthy staff, a child can get involved in educational, recreational and social activities that draw on existing community programs and often include family members. Kids Cafe sites offer nutrition education classes or activities on a regular basis.
Fast Facts
- Kids Cafe is the most expansive child-feeding program in the nation.
- There are more than 1,700 established Kids Cafes in operation.
- More than 12 million children live in food insecure households. Each year, the Feeding America network serves nine million of these children.
In Vermont, the Foodbank supports the following Kids Cafe programs:
- Rutland Boys and Girls Club
- Brattleboro Boys and Girls Club
- Winooski Teen Center
- The Burlington Boys and Girls Club
- The Boys and Girls Club of Montpelier Basement Teen Center
This program is made possible through the generous support of the Vermont Health Foundation.
For more information about this program, contact:
Jennifer Hutchinson, Youth Programs Manager
802.477.4126
jhutchinson@vtfoodbank.org