15 Apr 2011
North Texas Food Bank, Chase and Big Thought Join with Dallas ISD to Provide Healthy Evening Meals
DALLAS—Students eating at the Kids Cafe at Charles Rice Learning Center are sure to get nutritious evening meals before heading home for the day thanks to a partnership between the school, North Texas Food Bank, Chase and Big Thought.</>
Three days a week, Kids Cafe serves up hot meals to Charles Rice students participating in the Thriving Minds after school program. The program has become so popular with the students that many have siblings who stop by to take advantage of the nutritious meals as well.</>
Kids Cafe programs provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of community locations where children already congregate. The Kids Cafe at Charles Rice
Learning Center is a first for Dallas ISD and provides meals to nearly 120 students three evenings a week.</>
"Kids Cafe has made a difference at our school," said Charles Rice Learning Center Principal Alphér Garrett-Jones. "Not only has the number of students participating in after school programs increased, but more importantly, these students are getting the nutrition they need to help them lead healthy lives."</>
The Kids Cafe is a national program of Feed America and is administered locally by the North Texas Food Bank. Funding for the Kids Cafe at Charles Rice was provided by Chase, which has been instrumental in supporting the academic needs of students in the South Dallas community through the Thriving Minds initiative.</>
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