School Market
Alleviating child and teen hunger by providing food to students and their families at middle and high schools.
School Market
Alleviating child and teen hunger by providing food to students and their families at middle and high schools.
One in five Southeast Texas children is considered food insecure, which means they don’t have consistent access to enough nutritious food. Children need nourishment for success—nourishment of body, mind, and spirit.
The School Market program was developed to improve access to nutritional foods to middle and high school students, a vulnerable population that can be difficult to serve as they outgrow programs like Kids Cafe and Backpack Buddy. School Markets are located on the grounds of a school with set distribution schedules.
A key feature of School Markets is that they are staffed by students who receive trainings on how to set up product, restock and clean up the area after distributions. Besides being an opportunity for practiced leadership for student volunteers, School Markets provide critical nutrition to older children which results in better grades, improved attendance, and a healthier community.
The Houston Food Bank is looking to partner with schools/organizations that will support students and their families as they work towards healthy, stable lives. HFB School Market representatives work with partners to monitor, collect and track the progress and outcome of school pantry neighbors as they journey towards self-sufficiency.
- Agree to designate 2 of your staff members to provide oversight of the student market.
- Agree to provide “core” student volunteers to unload truck, stock shelves, service clients, conduct customer service surveys.
- Agree to the tracking and maintenance of client records with our electronic client data system Link2Feed.
- Agree the food provided cannot be sold, used for other programs, used at fundraisers, given to staff (unless registered as a client), or used for any other purpose other than to provide food to chronically hungry families.
- Brick and Mortar Market must commit for 2 years
- Mobile Market must commit for 1 year.
Doing more begins with working together. Through our network of more than 1,600 partners across Southeast Texas, we’re able to support more people where they live, work, and play. By joining forces, we can expand our reach and make a direct, immediate impact on the communities we serve together.
We have various ways you can partner. From student focused programs, economic and community targeted or food pantry. Read about our programs to learn requirements and guidelines for each and inquire today.
Student focused:
- Backpack Buddy
- School Market
- Kids Café
- Summer Feeding
- Higher Education
- Food Scholarship
Community Focused:
- Food Pantry
- Government Application Assistance
- Civic Hubs
Health Related:
- Medically Tailored Meals
- Food RX
- Nutrition Education
- Senior Box
How to Become a Partner
Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Houston Food Bank.
Organizations located within the following rural counties are currently encouraged to apply: Chambers and Walker.
Please note: We are generally unable to accommodate one-time requests for food.
In the meantime, we encourage agencies to collaborate with existing partners in your area. You can locate them by visiting our Find Help page.
If you’d like to explore ongoing partnership opportunities in the future, please review qualifications below and complete the interest form. Your submission will remain on file for future review should capacity change.
School Market Safety
Interested in having a School Market?
Complete our School Market Interest Form
For questions regarding School Market, please contact:
School Market
