It was a hot July afternoon in Smithville, Texas, where the temperatures can reach over 100 degrees. Candy Biehle, Child Nutrition Director for Smithville Independent School District, was at a park distributing grab-and-go meals. That’s when a boy walked up to her.
“Do I have to have a parent with me to get this food?” he asked. Biehle assured him he didn’t. “I just heard about this free food you’re giving out,” the boy said. “And, I really need it.”
He left with a four-day supply of meals—bags filled with fresh produce, frozen entrees and milk. As he struggled to carry the bags, another child from a nearby car jumped out and offered to help. “Can my mom still get my food if I help him carry his home?” the second boy asked.
Biehle told him that he of course could help. “That’s what it’s all about,” she explained. “This boy’s parents probably weren’t home. They probably worked. But he heard we were giving out food, and he came.”
This moment captures both the need and the importance of summer meals. When the school year ends, so do the meals that many children rely on. For millions of kids across the country, summer isn’t just a break from the classroom—it’s a break from regular access to food.
For years, Biehle has been a fierce advocate for flexible approaches to feeding kids during the summer. “I kept saying, ‘We’ll reach more kids if they don’t have to come to a site to eat.’”
Her persistence paid off. Recent changes in legislation have allowed families to pick up summer meals and consume them at home in rural areas like Smithville. Before, kids were required to eat on site. Biehle started grab-and-go summer meals last year, and the results have been extraordinary.
“In past years, we’d serve 10 to 25 kids at a congregate site [where kids are required to stay and eat] and end up closing because it wasn’t feasible,” Biehle explained. “But last summer, we were serving over 200 meals on the last day of distribution. That’s the power of grab-and-go.”
"It’s not just a job,” she said, talking about her work in school nutrition. “It’s more of a passion. I love child nutrition. I love the opportunities it has given me. It’s a passion feeding kids and talking to parents.”
Today, 1 in 5 kids in America live with hunger; there are hungry kids in most communities even if you cannot tell it exists. Biehle has spent 30 years working to end childhood hunger, and she knows that these meals matter.
One story in particular has remained with her. When her staff arrived at a park for the meal distribution, she saw a little kid who was waiting for them in a tree.
“There was a little boy, about eight years old, who climbed down from a tree when he saw our van pull up,” she recalled. “He was mad—not at us, but because he was so hungry. He said, ‘I knew you’d be here today. I haven’t had much to eat all weekend.’”
“The children who are first in line every single day—they’re hungry,” Biehle added. “If a child gets up and shows up for breakfast in the summertime, they’re hungry.”
With your help, No Kid Hungry has supported the purchase of essential equipment and strategic guidance to implement grab-and-go summer meals. With our help, they have also developed marketing materials to ensure families know about the program.
“Without that money and that support to No Kid Hungry,” said Biehle about the support from donors, “we could not reach as many families—No Kid Hungry has made such a positive impact on being able to do this. If I had to do a rating of one to ten, I would say 12, so your money is making a difference.”
While summer may feel far away, the work to ensure kids have access to meals never stops. Biehle is already preparing to open new sites and find ways to reach parents who work until late in the evening.
Summer is the hungriest time of the year, but Smithville’s meals program shows us that we have a unique opportunity to give kids the summer they deserve. This year, your support can help us get closer.
Talking about our goal to end childhood hunger in America, Biehle said, “No Kid Hungry is chipping away at this big goal, little by little, but we can’t do it without support.”
Ways You Can Help
- Donate: $1 can help provide 10 meals* for kids. Your support will help us fund meal programs all over the country and help us advocate for policies that will help kids get the meals they need. *Donations help support programs that feed kids; No Kid Hungry does not provide individual meals. Learn more at NoKidHungry.org/OneDollar.
- Speak up for kids: Reach out to your elected officials and ask them to do more to end childhood hunger. Tell your lawmaker to advocate for policies that will help kids get the meals they need.
