Kids Cafes Offer Innovative Solutions to Childhood Hunger

by Linda McCarty

When two young brothers broke into their housing project's community center in a desperate act to find food late one night in 1989, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia knew something had to be done.

The food bank conceived and established the first Kids Cafe, a free meal service program for children. Four years later, in response to the growing numbers of hungry children, America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger relief organization, launched the Kids Cafe program nationally.

"Today there are 1200 Kids Cafes operating in 41 states across the country where affiliate food banks work in partnership with local agencies and schools to feed hungry children," said June Tanoue, the Kids Cafe program adminstrator.

"Boys and Girls Clubs are frequently used as Kids Cafe sites, and in many cases they were the missing component that has led to increased attendance," said Tanoue. The sites serve anywhere from 15 children once a week to 500 children five times a week during the school year. "In a few places Kids Cafes do meals in the Summer, and we are working with the U. S. Department of Agriculture and others to get additional support," she added.

Kids Cafe programs are as diverse as the populations they serve and are found in a variety of community settings. "In Waterloo, Iowa, they do a quarterly cultural theme with appropriate food and dress," Tanoue said. Many programs include nutrition education and tutoring and others sponsor arts programs. By utilizing existing community resources, Kids Cafes can offer social and recreational programs both for the children and their families.

One of the reasons for the program's success and growth is that locations are chosen both where children are likely to be and where voluntary help is available. In Chicago, for example, one Kids Cafe is located in the famed "Magnificent Mile" and is run by the Fourth Presbyterian Church. On the West side of town, another site is found in a storefront and is run by the sisters of the Fraternite Notre Dame. New York City's programs soon will include a site in Chinatown.

Corporate sponsorship also has aided in the program's growth, especially the participation of ConAgra Foods through its Feeding Children Better Foundation. Working with America's Second Harvest, the Foundation has opened 112 Kids Cafes, increased public awareness of childhood hunger, purchased 100 trucks for food banks to distribute food more efficiently, and installed extensive computerized inventory management systems in 88 food banks to regain potentially millions of pounds of food each year.

If you would like to get involved in a Kids Cafe in your community, Tanoue suggests contacting your local food bank. A database of food banks can be found at http://www.secondharvest.org.