Fear of hunger grips kids at summer meals program in South Texas

EDINBURG – It’s not something one expects to hear from children in the U.S. —  concern about where their next meal will come from.

But that’s exactly what organizers report hearing from youngsters attending the second annual Summer Meals for Our Neighboring Community program in Edinburg.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program is aimed at low-income children ages six months to 18 years who live near AgriLife Extension’s office at 410 N. 13th St., just blocks from the Hidalgo County Courthouse.

“We’ve gained the trust of the kids who come to the program, especially those who attended last year, and some have said they worry about having something to eat,” said Melissa DeLeon, an AgriLife Extension agent for Hidalgo County in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.

Every Friday this summer, about 30 neighborhood kids come in with their parents for breakfast and lunch – with a side order of educational activities and good advice on healthy living, she said.

“Even though we’d like to alleviate hunger altogether, we simply don’t have the resources,” DeLeon said. “We can only provide supplemental assistance to help decrease the food insecurity of community children.”

DeLeon and her colleagues partnered with several other agencies and businesses to run the summer program, including the Texas Hunger Initiative, a project of the Baylor University School of Social Work. This initiative creates and uses strategies to end hunger through policy, education, research, and community organizing and development.

“The initiative’s statistics show that 20 percent of Texans, or 26 million people, are food insecure,” she said. “That ranks us as second in the nation. And some of them live right here, in the very neighborhoods that surround our AgriLife Extension office.”

Other collaborators include Catholic Charities, Superior Health Plan, Lowe’s in Edinburg, Southland Dairy Farmers, South Texas Literacy, Peter Piper Pizza in Edinburg, University of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences of McAllen and the City of McAllen Fire Department.

Businesses that have contributed school supplies include Tommy Wilson State Farm Insurance, Cesar Tamez State Farm Insurance, Home Depot, Gladys Porter Zoo, Frost Bank, Ruby Castellanos State Farm Insurance and the City of Edinburg Fire Department.

Those attending the program will receive free backpacks filled with the school supplies on graduation day, July 22.

“As summer neared, we received a lot of calls from local parents asking if we were going to provide the program again this summer,” DeLeon said. “But we were rather crowded last year, so on the advice of Elaine Hernandez, of the Texas Hunger Initiative and an EFNEP advisory board member, we relocated the program a few blocks away to the AgriLife Extension office for Hidalgo County. It’s working out a lot better here.”

Healthy breakfasts are served at 9:30 a.m. and lunch is served at 11:15 a.m. In between, children are instructed on a variety of topics having to do with healthy living, including hygiene, exercise, healthy eating and other health-related topics.

“Children also participate in lessons titled ‘Exploring My Plate With Professor Popcorn,’ developed with curriculum by Purdue University Extension and created by AgriLife Extension specialists in family and consumer sciences and 4-H youth development,” DeLeon said.

Maritza Sanchez, an AgriLife Extension youth nutrition educator associate, said those who attend get a whole lot more than just a meal.

“These are wonderful low-income community kids who are well-behaved and truly appreciative of both the meals they get and the learning activities,” she said. “We not only teach them about nutrition, which is very important, but we also provide them with educational life skills that they can use at home, for themselves and their families.”

One activity that really gets the kids excited and involved is painting birdhouses provided by Lowe’s.

“It’s amazing how happy and creative they get when they’re working on their birdhouses,” DeLeon said. “During that time, even if it’s just an hour, they can forget about their hunger and just be fun-loving kids again. It’s a thrill and a blessing to watch.”

For more information or to contribute to the program, contact DeLeon at 956-383-1026 or email Melissa.DeLeon@ag.tamu.edu.