No Kid Hungry Grant

No Kid Hungry Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Share Our Strength
Last Updated: November 25, 2024

Summary

The No Kid Hungry Grant, provided by Share Our Strength, aims to support schools and community groups in ensuring children have access to nutritious meals. Grants are allocated for essential equipment rather than food, addressing the unique needs of programs serving children. With a focus on reducing financial barriers, the initiative prioritizes funding for the School Breakfast Program and summer meals, ultimately striving for equitable access to resources that help combat childhood hunger and promote community engagement.

Overview

No Kid Hungry Grant A big part of what we do at No Kid Hungry is providing grants to schools and community groups across the country so they can afford what they need to feed kids. “We’re just trying anything we can do to help feed these kids,” said Christine Clarahan, a school nutrition director in Indiana whose team received No Kid Hungry grants to help serve breakfast and lunch three times a week to 2,400 students. “It is worth it when you see the kids’ smiles or the relief on the parents’ faces.” No Kid Hungry grants are rarely used to buy food. The actual food served by public schools and community programs is paid for, partly, through the fees paid by students and by the federal government, which reimburses schools for the costs of the meals they serve. But running a successful meals program requires more than food. School cafeterias and community centers need equipment like refrigerators and coolers. If a school serves breakfast in the classroom, they need carts and cooler bags to deliver the meals. During the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of school meals programs suddenly needed all kinds of equipment, from delivery trucks to protective gear for workers to packaging for delivery meals. These are the kinds of items No Kid Hungry helps pay for through our grants. No Kid Hungry’s core beliefs drive our evolving grantmaking strategy: We believe that every child in the United States needs - and deserves - healthy food in order to grow and thrive. We believe that racial inequity is a root cause of childhood hunger. We believe that the most effective and sustainable anti-hunger programs actively engage their community in driving solutions and decision-making. We believe in lifting up the voices of community leaders of color who have been historically left out of philanthropic decision making and seek to work in partnership with community leaders of color to help inform and drive our programmatic and funding strategies and decisions. Under-resourced and marginalized communities disproportionately experience poverty and hunger. We know that those on the ground, who really understand their communities, are leaders in creating change. We also recognize that because of various, often layered inequities, these leaders may be underfunded or lack financial resources. Our goal is to minimize financial barriers for schools and community-based organizations to make sure they have the funds needed to provide food to kids.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. If you are a school district or community-based organization working to serve children through federal feeding programs, we want to hear from you.