TYLER, Texas — With school back in session, the East Texas Food Bank summer feeding program has come to a close. This summer, the nonprofit says it assisted 2,900 kids and provided almost 60,000 meals to kids.
That's a 50 percent increase in the number of meals served compared to last year.
This program is held annually to help families and children who aren’t in school during the summer to have access to nutritious meals.
East Texas Food Bank Programs Director Blake Huguenin said the program is important in bridging the gap between the lack of meals children might see when they are not in classes.
"It's about feeding kids. a lot of parents are working or, you know," Huguenin said. "The inflation over the last couple years has been pretty high. So it helps families stretch their dollar a little bit more by being able to allow their kids come to one of our sites and get a free meal."
The food bank will continue to serve the community even after summer. In 2023, the food bank distributed 35 million pounds of food with over 15 million pounds being fresh produce.
The nonprofit is promoting its Backpack Program, which will be in full swing next month. Families will be able to pick up a backpack of food with various meals and snacks to help kids who may suffer from food insecurity after school or on weekends.
This will help kids who don’t have the daily access to two meals a day when they are not on campus.