As the nation's largest after-school meal service program for children, Kids Cafe provides free snacks along with nutrition information to hungry students.

Across the nation, more than 300 Kids Cafes operate in 29 states and offer meals and educational activities. Kids Cafe programs operate in secure locations where kids naturally congregate, such as community centers, schools or Boys and Girls Clubs.

America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger relief organization, operates Kids Cafe in conjunction with 71 food banks across the country.

WHERE IS KIDS CAFE?

Currently, The Idaho Foodbank supplies food, nutrition-education materials and physical-fitness for Kids Cafe programs in locations that range from Lewiston, to Boise, to Pocatello.

WHO NEEDS KIDS CAFE?

Thirty-Five percent of the people served by America's Second Harvest are children. One in five people served in a soup kitchen is a child.

It is clear that millions of children across the nation face the dangers of hunger. Lack of food at an early age has much larger repercussions than simply the uncomfortable feeling of an empty stomach. Even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth may lead to reductions in physical development and brain growth and can increase the likelihood of opportunistic illnesses. Studies have shown that hungry children suffer two to four times as many health problems as other children, including anemia and vitamin deficiencies. They are also more than twice as likely to have frequent headaches, ear infections and colds and are three times as likely to miss school.

In contrast, a recent study by Brandeis University, reported that two-thirds of children surveyed reported feeling better since going to Kids Cafes. The top four ways they reported feeling better were: earning better grades in school (55%), having more energy/less fatigue (52%), having better concentration (42%) and feeling less grouchy (42%). In a separate study, poor children who got free breakfast at school gained about three percentile points on standardized tests compared to children who were eligible but did not participate in the food program.

And at a time when 37% of America's children are overweight or obese, it is even more important that young people learn proper nutrition and exercise habits.

It is imperative that children eat well to learn, grow and prosper.

WHAT CAN I DO?

The Idaho Foodbank's Kids Cafe relies on volunteers to continue functioning. Our primary need is for compassionate people like you to help us deliver the food that will ensure this valuable program continues.

VOLUNTEER TODAY! Complete the form below and click the "Send" button.
or Call Right Now: (208) 336-9643 to make a tax deductible donation.