WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — A federal program is doing its part to help end child hunger during the summer by providing meals.

No Kid Hungry Texas provides meals to children 18 and under during summer break. With new policy changes, the program is bridging the gap to reach more families without transportation to pick-up sites.

Senior program manager Mia Medina spoke on the importance of this program.

“Many kids rely on free and reduced breakfast and lunch at school. However, whenever the school bell rings for the last day of school, a lot of these kids, particularly the one-in-four Texas kids who are food insecure, don’t have access to those meals that they are used to having,” she explained. “So, the summer meals program, which is a federal program, allows for kids to pick up a free meal in the community.”

This program collaborates with various schools and local partners to help feed families across Wichita Falls and beyond by providing multiple pickup sites.

Traditional summer meal programs can be challenging for parents because they have to be consumed on-site, which creates the strain of having to come every day. But a new program is fixing that problem.

“And one of the flexibilities in particular that we’re excited about is the rural non-congregate program that allows rural communities to serve through a drive-thru model, home delivery, or even just bulk meal pickup,” Medina said. “For a lot of these summer meal sites, you just have to be 18 and under. A lot of them don’t require you to sign up or enroll in any way. You just kind of show up and get your meal.”

With the traditional and rural non-congregate programs working together, it provides more tools than ever to fight summer hunger, reaching a potential 21 million kids across the country this year and ending hunger one child at a time.

For a list of locations and pickup times and to set up bulk pick-ups and deliveries, text ‘food ‘FOOD’ or ‘COMIDA’ to 304-304.

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