North Texas nonprofit to expand summer program to feed children as need grows
A nonprofit in Lewisville is working to make sure kids who rely on the food offered at school get healthy meals throughout the summer, but the need has nearly doubled.
"All summer, knowing they're not going to go to school and get food," said Debbie Avinger, who volunteers at
Christian Community Action
with her husband and son. "It breaks my heart."
About 300,000 children in North Texas face food insecurity, which means one in five kids don't know where their next meal will come from.
"And with these children specifically, 35% of the of Denton County children either have free lunches or price-reduced lunches during school," said Gilbert Montes, the CEO of Christian Community Action.
Hunger doesn't take a break even when school ends, which is why Christian Community Action brings the food to them through their Kids Eat Free program.
"We have, what we call kind of a DoorDash model," Montes said.
Volunteers deliver meals for lunch each weekday, along with a packet of breakfast, lunch and snack items to help get families though the weekend.
Last summer,
Kids Eat Free
served 600 children. They plan to nearly double that number this year by serving 1,000 kids.
"We live in such, what I call these shiny suburbs that exist here and where we consider a very rich area, but there's a lot of need in the area and is growing every day," said Montes. "We see the lines of people who come every morning before we open the door, and the need just continues to grow and grow and grow."
Meeting that need requires an army of volunteers and $372,000 worth of donations.
The Avingers said there's no better cause to contribute to.
"We've interacted with a lot of people at all different ages that need food, from children up to seniors, but those kids especially – just when we show up, the gratitude is pretty profound," Avinger said.
If you want to help, you can drop off donations to the CCA Pantry, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at 200 S. Mill Street in Lewisville. You can also give through the
Amazon Wish List
or
make a donation here
.
Volunteer to help sort, pack, and deliver items throughout the summer by contacting CCA at
development@ccahelps.org
.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Wildlife centre needs help to feed 17 rescued fox cubs
A wildlife rescue centre near Swindon is appealing for help to feed a group of fox cubs. RSPCA Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre is based in the Blakehill Nature Reserve in Cricklade. Its team is currently trying to care for 17 newly-rescued animals. A spokesperson said: "That's a lot of mouths to feed and very delicate tummies to support. 'The kicker is that our cubs will only eat Pedigree Puppy Food, which we are running very low on. 'If you can help us feed these cutie patooties, please consider buying a pack of Pedigree Puppy Food from our Amazon Wishlist. 'By purchasing from our Amazon Wishlist, you are not only helping us get important items that we need, but also helping us as a charity save money which we can put towards the bigger costs such as our vet bills, utilities and wildlife ambulances! 'Thank you from us and the cubs.' One of the cubs was admitted after her mother was found dead a few metres away, but she is now doing well following this difficult start to her life. The spokesperson added: 'If you come across a fox cub and you have confirmed that the mother is deceased or has not returned to her cubs for 24 hours, please contact your closest wildlife rescue centre as soon as possible."
CBS News
11-04-2025
- CBS News
North Texas nonprofit to expand summer program to feed children as need grows
A nonprofit in Lewisville is working to make sure kids who rely on the food offered at school get healthy meals throughout the summer, but the need has nearly doubled. "All summer, knowing they're not going to go to school and get food," said Debbie Avinger, who volunteers at Christian Community Action with her husband and son. "It breaks my heart." About 300,000 children in North Texas face food insecurity, which means one in five kids don't know where their next meal will come from. "And with these children specifically, 35% of the of Denton County children either have free lunches or price-reduced lunches during school," said Gilbert Montes, the CEO of Christian Community Action. Hunger doesn't take a break even when school ends, which is why Christian Community Action brings the food to them through their Kids Eat Free program. "We have, what we call kind of a DoorDash model," Montes said. Volunteers deliver meals for lunch each weekday, along with a packet of breakfast, lunch and snack items to help get families though the weekend. Last summer, Kids Eat Free served 600 children. They plan to nearly double that number this year by serving 1,000 kids. "We live in such, what I call these shiny suburbs that exist here and where we consider a very rich area, but there's a lot of need in the area and is growing every day," said Montes. "We see the lines of people who come every morning before we open the door, and the need just continues to grow and grow and grow." Meeting that need requires an army of volunteers and $372,000 worth of donations. The Avingers said there's no better cause to contribute to. "We've interacted with a lot of people at all different ages that need food, from children up to seniors, but those kids especially – just when we show up, the gratitude is pretty profound," Avinger said. If you want to help, you can drop off donations to the CCA Pantry, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at 200 S. Mill Street in Lewisville. You can also give through the Amazon Wish List or make a donation here . Volunteer to help sort, pack, and deliver items throughout the summer by contacting CCA at development@ .
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
City of Albuquerque Gateway Network making donating easier with Amazon Wishlist
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The city of Albuquerque is making it easier for anyone wanting to help the homeless at the Gateway Network with an Amazon Wishlist highlighting the Gateway Network's needs. Some items the Gateway Center is in need of: Pants Sweat pants T-shirts Underwear Toiletries Storage bins Shelving More items found on the Amazon Wishlist Donations will go to people at Gateway Network, which helps people experiencing homelessness. For anyone who wishes to drop off donations directly can schedule a drop off time, click here. For more information on donating to to the Gateway Network, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
