Kids Cafés

With the holidays over, children across the Food Bank’s 34-county service area will return to school – many to spend their last few months preparing for important end-of-grade testing.

When you arrive at Avent Ferry United Methodist Church in Raleigh on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, you will find Denise Simmons setting up for an after-school program for middle school children called Kids Cafe.

Since 2002, the Food Bank has partnered with community organizations like Avent Ferry to provide children with a safe place and a hot meal after school, along with mentoring, tutoring, and physical activity.

With 1 in 6 children in the Food Bank’s 34-county service area living in food-insecure households, programs like Kids Cafe are essential as they address hunger, child development, and educational achievement. The Food Bank currently operates 27 Kids Cafe Programs along with several other programs that provide children with access to food and other resources.