Houston Food Bank Serving Nutritious Meals To Local Children This Summer – May 26, 2026

Summer Food Service Program provides nutrition to schoolchildren over summer break

HOUSTON … When school is out for summer, kids still need nutritious meals to fuel a healthy lifestyle and ensure they return to class ready to learn.  Houston Food Bank will once again connect 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 12,000 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.”

This year, in addition to the congregate feeding sites, Houston Food Bank will be adding locations in rural areas in the coming weeks.

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

In contrast to congregate feeding locations where kids dine together, the noncongregate model allows children to take meals off-site to eat elsewhere, such as home. This option is primarily available to rural areas as determined by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Houston Food Bank’s noncongregate model is grab-and-go, five-day bundled meal pick up at the participating locations. We hope that operating summer food service models such as this will increase access to families who may face barriers in trying to reach congregate feeding sites on a daily basis.  Noncongregate sites may require parent/guardian to provide proof of school enrollment if picking up meals without their child or children present. Documents such as report cards, school enrollment letters or even birth certificates would suffice.

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.

For more information on Houston Food Bank and its programs, please visit www.HoustonFoodBank.org.

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About Houston Food Bank

Serving Houston and southeast Texas since 1982, Houston Food Bank’s mission is to provide food for better lives. We provide access to 143 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our 1,600 community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools.  Filling gaps on plates, we have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and to improve the lives of those in our communities, including services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability: nutrition education, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. Houston Food Bank works alongside our partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston County and Brazos Valley. Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for the 14th consecutive year.

Website houstonfoodbank.org; Social media: @houstonfoodbank (Instagram and X), @thehoustonfoodbank (Facebook)