A volunteer prepares summer meals for waiting kids.

Delivering Summer Joy Through Kids Café

Outside a Kids Café summer meal site, a Houston Food Bank truck rolls up. As soon as it’s in view, a chorus of children’s cheers break out. It’s the kind of excitement you don’t forget — the kind a longtime driver said he had “never seen … until the last couple of years.”

The cheering is a sweet expression of gratitude by so many kids for delicious food on the way. Thanks to our community of supporters, that joyful noise is being heard this summer at 200 Kids Café sites across southeast Texas.

For these distributions, the Food Bank’s Culinary Team prepares 21,000 meals every day, including breakfasts, hot lunches, and snacks. The work starts early in the morning, long before the sun comes up. The meals themselves ensure children from families who are struggling to keep their pantries stocked can still enjoy nourishing food. Houston Food Bank connects children ages one to 18 and enrolled students with disabilities up to age 21 with healthy, no-cost summer meals via the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  This U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition program is administered in Texas by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) to assist children who rely on school meals during the academic year, offering a source of good nutrition during the long summer break.

Through SFSP and with the assistance of community partners, Houston Food Bank is projected to serve approximately 21,000 grab-n-go meals – breakfasts, lunches and snacks – daily at more than 150 sites throughout the summer.

Summer Food Service Program runs from June 8 – August 7, 2026. Meals are served on a first-come, first-served basis.

“One in five children in Houston Food Bank’s 18-county service area experiences food insecurity, which means they don’t have consistent access to nutritious food,” says Brian Greene, president/CEO of Houston Food Bank. “In order to address this issue, the Houston Food Bank distributes meals to children through community partners during the school year as well as summer. This year’s Summer Food Service Program begins on June 8.”

Chef Axel

“What Does a Kid Actually Want to Eat?”

Chef Axel leads our Culinary Team. He says, “We ask: What does a kid actually want to eat? What would I want to eat?” That personal reflection helps guide the team as they work long hours planning, cooking, and delivering so many hot meals. The meals are created with children’s tastes in mind — without sacrificing nutrition. And the end result is a lot of full bellies and happy smiles.

“Breakfast for lunch” has become a surprise favorite. So have the Culinary Team’s culturally inclusive staples, like tikka masala and coconut curry, or beef tamales over Spanish rice.

“Even if a child has never heard of a dish, it becomes a discussion piece at the site,” Axel said. “What is curry? Where does it come from? Who eats it? It brings in a little culinary education as well.

Together, We’re Rising to the Challenge

Jenny also serves on our Culinary Team. For her, this work is personal. “I was one of those kids,” she shared, remembering the meals she received through a program just like Kids Café. “For some of these children, this is the only meal they get in a day.”

And the need is growing. This past summer alone, Axel, Jenny, and the Culinary Team prepared more than 700,000 meals for Kids Café sites across our region and, as Axel put it, “We’re still only scratching the surface.”

Our Culinary Team’s goal is simple: to reach more kids, in more places, with meals that are not only nourishing but joyful.

Chef Jenny

Any child from the community can receive a meal at any of the food bank’s participating sites.

Houston Food Bank is one of the non-profit organizations partnering with TDA to serve meals across Texas. Families are encouraged to use these tools to find a meal site in their area:

Organizations partner with TDA to serve meals in areas where more than 50-percent of children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program. Eligible sponsoring organizations include schools, faith-based groups, nonprofit summer camps, government agencies and other tax-exempt organizations. All meal sites must be sponsored by an organization that has a contract with TDA.

Summer meal sites help children succeed by providing the nourishment they need to return to school in the fall ready to thrive.