Allen Community Outreach: ACO KIDS Summer Food Program

Sam 

Sam, a single mom of four, is categorized as the working poor of Collin County. She earns more than minimum wage, but doesn’t earn enough to make ends meet at the end of the month. This past summer, ACO partnered with Sam and her family to close the gap and fill the need in her home through ACO KIDS Summer Food Program. ACO’s program provides every child with a large bag of kid-friendly and easy-fix foods every two weeks. These bags of groceries helped Sam eliminate the rising cost of groceries during the summer months and ensured her children had three meals a day. The money Sam saved on grocery purchases allowed her to manage other financial responsibilities in her home. Sam was overwhelmed with excitement knowing each of her children was given a personal bag of breakfast and lunch foods “just for them”. ACO Summer Food Program not only feeds kids, but makes it personal!

Amanda

Amanda is seven years old and very mature for her age. She has had to grow up in a hurry, because unfortunately she has responsibility for her younger sister when their parents aren’t home. During the school year, they are only alone for a few hours in the house before her Mom comes home from work. Their Dad works two jobs to try and make ends meet, so he’s home very little. During the school year, Amanda and her sister are on the Free and Reduced Breakfast and Lunch Program which ensures they have healthy meals twice a day. However, with summertime here, Amanda is responsible for herself and her sister for 8 hours each weekday. Her parents are barely able to afford the groceries for a family of four, so they plan one meal in the evening thanks to their monthly access to the ACO Food Pantry. And thanks to the ACO KIDS Summer Food Program, Amanda and her sister will have nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack foods to eat while they are home alone during the summer. Mom said last summer’s food program was a real blessing for their family. Two Saturdays a month from June through August, Amanda’s parents will come to the pantry this summer and bring the girls. They are both again excited to get their very own bags, which not only have foods they look forward to, but sometimes other surprises like books, small toys, a new toothbrush and such. Two Saturdays a month, Amanda and her sister will leave the pantry with big smiles knowing that they won’t go hungry this summer.

Order a meal. Give a meal.

Order a meal from select restaurants today only, June 19 between 11 AM – 9 PM, on the Favor Dallas app and $1 of each purchase will benefit The Dallas Morning News Charities’ Kids Summer Feeding Campaign. Participating restaurants include:

  • Big Guys Chicken and Rice
  • Bowls & Tacos
  • Christie’s Sports Bar
  • Cinco Taco Bar
  • Fadi’s Mediterranean
  • Greenz
  • Kozy Kitchen
  • Modern Market
  • MoMo’s Pasta
  • Pōk The Raw Bar
  • Sapa House
  • Southpaw’s Organic Grill
  • Stackhouse Burger
  • Tacodeli
  • Unleavened Fresh Kitchen
  • Urban Caphe
  • Zoës Kitchen

This summer, The Dallas Morning News Charities is supporting six local organizations that help provide nutritious meals to children whose lives are thrown in disarray when school is on break. According to the North Texas Food Bank, $1 equals one nutritious meal.

So essentially, ordering a meal with Favor today provides a meal for a North Texas child in need. It’s a win-win. Click the button below to download the Favor app and order a meal to give a meal today!

Click to Download Favor

 

Sharing Life: Summer Food and Fun

Maria’s Story

Maria is a student in our Healthcare Pathways program with El Centro. She works nights so she can attend classes at Sharing Life during the day. She has 2 school-aged children and is the sole earner in the family. During the school year both of Maria’s children eat breakfast and lunch at their neighborhood school, but in the summer they go hungry some days. Last summer Maria signed both children up for Sharing Life’s Summer Food and Fun program. For 12 weeks both kids received a backpack full of easy to prepare breakfast and lunch items like granola bars, peanut butter & jelly, and microwaveable soups. In addition to the food items, each backpack also included age-appropriate books and educational activities to keep their brains sharp during the school break. Maria completed her courses at Sharing Life in the fall and is now a certified phlebotomist at a local hospital.

 

Frisco Family Services: Ruth and Devin

Ruth, a senior living on a fixed income, currently has full custody of her 8-year-old grandson, Devin. Ruth loves taking care of Devin, but the added expenses of taking care of a child made it difficult to make ends meet. Ruth had to make tough choices between paying all the bills or keeping food on the table as she could no longer do both.

During the school year, Devin is a part of the 11% of Frisco ISD students who receives free and reduced lunches at school. Before Ruth started receiving services from Frisco Family Services, the summer months put a real financial strain on her food budget, having to buy more groceries to provide Devin with lunch at home every day. Last year,Ruth and Devin participated in Frisco Family Services’ Summer Lunch Program, where more than 10,000 lunches and snack packs were distributed. Not only did the Summer Lunch Program provide them with enough food to keep them healthy, but she was able to take Devin out to play with other kids his own age, make new friends and enjoy fun-filled activities.

“I was worried when I got custody of my grandson that I would not be able to give him everything that he needs,” said Ruth. “The Summer Lunch Program not only provided healthy food for Devin, but he also got to partake in fun activities and make new friends. Going to the Summer Lunch Program was something we both looked forward to going to every week!”

Brother Bills Helping Hand: The Fernandez Family

Blanca Fernandez and her three children are very involved in many of the free programs at Brother Bill’s Helping Hand (BBHH). During the summer, her two daughters, Yazmin (10) and Sophia (8), love to participate in the annual 5-day Ballet Camp. Blanca recently shared with BBHH staff about how much her girls had always wanted to take ballet lessons, but she could never find a ballet school she could afford. In addition to ballet lessons at BBHH, her daughters received the blessing of free lunches each day of camp. Blanca commented that free lunches are a huge help for her during the summer. She struggled to find a free summer lunch program before BBHH, and now she and her children look forward to summers at BBHH where she knows they will receive the critical support and services her family needs.

Dallas Morning News Charities Launches Summer Feeding Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2017

Contact:
Camille Grimes Executive Director,
Dallas Morning News Charities
214-977-7044
camillegrimes@dallasnews.com

(Dallas) – Every year, thousands of low-income students in North Texas receive free- and reduced-priced lunches at public schools. For many of them, it’s the only nutritious meal they eat all day.

But in a few short weeks, the summer breaks begins. How will they get meals then?

The Dallas Morning News Charities is teaming up with six local nonprofit organizations to help fill in the gaps with its first summer fund-raising campaign. The goal is to provide 30,000 additional meals. Each meal costs approximately $1. The campaign runs May 15- June 27.

While some school districts offer free lunches at a limited number of campuses in the summer, one in four North Texas kids are still food-insecure – meaning they have limited or uncertain access to adequate food.

No child should spend the summer hungry in this community.

“For our nonprofits, and those they serve, summer represents of greatest need for meals (no school lunches), and donations (slowest donation period),” said Richard Jones, chairman of the DMN Charities. “For our first Summer Feeding Campaign, I know our readers will answer the call of giving and we will exceed our goal of providing 30,000 meals.”

The partner organizations include those that provide meals, snacks or bags of groceries.

They are: Allen Community Outreach, Brother Bill’s Helping Hand, Crossroads Community Services, Frisco Family Services, North Texas Food Bank, Sharing Life.

Let’s help them keep kids healthy this summer.

To donate or learn more about DMN Charities and the summer program, visit dmncharities.com. 100% of every donation will go to provide meals for children in need in North Texas this summer.