New York City — Food insecurity is a problem that affects school children across the nation. Organizations like No Kid Hungry are working to ensure that while in school, students receive a nourishing breakfast and lunch to help them make it through the day.
Now, with tri-state schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many kids are missing out on their daily meals.
According to No Kid Hungry, 22 million children have lost access to the free school meals they rely on each day.
“No Kid Hungry has a plan to feed them and is implementing solutions to ensure kids who rely on receiving meals at school are now able to receive them at home,” said Rachel Sabella, No Kid Hungry New York Campaign Director.
With the use of emergency grants, the team is working on home delivered meals, pop-up meals programs, school and community pantries, backpack programs, and other steps to help reach children who have lost access to school meals.
For parents whose children have benefited from these programs and are now seeking where they can pick up meals, No Kid Hungry has launched a texting service to help families in New York City find meals for their kids during school closures.
Families can text the word ‘NYC FOOD’ or ‘NYC COMIDA’ to 877-877 to find the closest meal distribution site in their community.
According to No Kid Hungry, kids in need have missed more than 40 million school meals due to coronavirus school closures – and that number continues to rise each day.
For many kids, school meals are the only healthy food they can depend on.
As part of the Fuel Our Kids initiative, PIX11 has partnered with No Kid Hungry to see how they are continuing to serve students across the country during this pandemic.
How you can help
If you want to get involved, spread the word about No Kid Hungry’s texting service to help families find free meals for their kids. Then, let members of your community know about the emergency grants available through No Kid Hungry.
Visit No Kid Hungry for more information on ways you can get involved and help feed kids in America’s hardest-hit communities.
