Golf tournament drives HPFB Kids Cafe support through summer months

Yahoo

20-05-2025

At total of 43 teams recently took to the greens at Ross Rogers Golf Course to benefit the High Plains Food Bank's Kids Café. The 32nd such golf tournament has been the "one and only" fundraiser for the meal program, according to Kids Café Director Maribel Sotelo.
'It brings in funds for us to provide meals for kids. Our program operates through the school year and into the summer,' she said. 'We provide hot meals and partner with different after-school programs, and they provide the enrichment portion, which would be like tutoring, physical activity, anything that they're doing after school. Then we provide the meal for that enrichment time.'
'In the summertime, we also partner again with different organizations in town that provide enrichment activities throughout the summer, and we provide the meals for them,' Sotelo said.
The golf tournament event was held Friday, May 16 ahead of the summer months when schools are closed.
Sotelo said that in the summer, the work doubles for Kids Café because they provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and suppers because school is out and some kids don't have access to meals. During the school year, it's a supper meal.
Kids Café serves up to 1,400 to 1,600 meals per day to students alone. They also serve senior citizens and people experiencing homelessless, which amounts to roughly 300-400 adults per day during the summer. During the school year, it's about 300.
Some of the enrichment programs are held at their partners' locations like Eastridge Mission Center, where kids can experience soccer, basketball, and tutoring in a safe place within their neighborhood. The center sends a staff person or volunteer to pick up meals and take them back to the center. Another partner is the Boys and Girls Center and Humphrey's Highland Elementary School campus.
'The kids are also learning that there can be dignity in receiving a meal. It doesn't become a soup kitchen or handout; it's a partnership,' Sotelo said. 'They're also learning things like computer classes and activities where they can learn, too.'
The figures for meals were very high during the pandemic when schools were closed, but after that, numbers shifted. But, there still is a real need.
'We have very strict nutritional policies that follow USDA guidelines and Department of Agriculture guidelines which can drive up the price,' Sotelo said. 'We're also licensed by the Department of Health and deal with restaurant licenses and other things that we have to pay for, so without funding, we cannot serve more people.'
On average, the tournament can bring in around $100,000 for the nonprofit, according to Zivorad Filipovic, HPFB director of marketing and communications.
Winner of the Low Ball Net/Mustang Course/Mustang Division was the team of Arthur Shoels, Salvador Martinez, J.D. Prather and Lonnie Flake. In the Wildhorse Division, it was the team of Richard Constancio Jr., Sean Wright, Heath Parker and Mike Ohm.
In addition, this summer, High Plains Food Bank will connect children 18 and younger and enrolled students with disabilities up to 21 years old with healthy, no cost summer meals via the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition program administered in the Lone Star State by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA).
Along with Kids Café, summer meal sites help children succeed by providing the nourishment they need to return to school in the fall ready to thrive.
"Amarillo and Canyon children need good nutrition year-round so they can learn, grow and succeed in life,' Sotelo said in a news release. 'With nearly 2 million food insecure children living in Texas, these healthy meals are vital to nourishing young Texans during the summer vacation.'
High Plains Food Bank sponsors several summer meal programs with partners that provide summer enrichment activities, including the following: The Warford Activity Center, The MAAC and North MAAC, The Boys and Girls Club of Amarillo, Glenwood Apartments, Eastridge Mission Center, First Methodist Church–Canyon at Lakeside Campus and Reeves Campus, High Plains Food Bank Kids Cafe Program, New Light Ministries, Amarillo WIC Clinic Austin Street, North Branch Library WIC Clinic, Cathy's Pointe Apartments, North Grand Villa Apartments, and Stone Canyon Apartments.
High Plains Food Bank is one of the is one of the nonprofit organizations partnering with TDA to serve meals across the state of Texas. Families are encouraged to use these three tools to find a meal site anywhere in the state:
Call 2-1-1 to speak to a live operator
Visit www.SummerFood.org for an interactive site locator map
Text FOOD or COMIDA to 304-304
Organizations partner with TDA to serve meals in areas where more than 50% of children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program. Eligible sponsoring organizations include schools, faith-based groups, nonprofit summer camps, government agencies and other tax-exempt organizations.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: HPFB Kids Cafe raises funds, support through 32nd golf tournament