In Savannah, Georgia, in 1989, two young brothers were discovered after hours in the kitchen of their housing project’s community center. The older brother had broken into the kitchen to feed himself and his hungry younger brother. In response to this example of childhood hunger in their local community, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia started the first Kids Cafe®. In 1993, America’s Second Harvest, the national food bank network, launched the national Kids Cafe® program. There are currently 600 Kids Cafe® sites nationally.

The Food Bank's goal is to make meals available to disadvantaged children in an environment that is safe and accessible. Nearly 1 out of every 7 people in Arizona live in poverty, with 40% of them being children under the age of 18.

The Center on Hunger and Poverty estimates that in 2004, 13.9 million children lived in food insecure households and more than 500,00 have gone hungry.

Click here to view a promotional video about our Kids Cafe® program.

How You Can Give Hope to Hungry Kids

Volunteer: Volunteers stretch our dollars much further. In fact, more than 7,500 volunteers annually enable the Food Bank to hold administrative costs to approximately 1%. If you would be interested in preparing or serving meals at a Kids Cafe®, participating in recreational and educational activities for children, or helping the food bank in a myriad of ways, call (602) 242-FOOD (3663).

Donate: If you choose to donate food or money to support the Kids Cafe® program, it will help give hope to needy children. Making a contribution to help the daily operation of a Kids Cafe® program or to the Kids Hope Chest Endowment is a great way to help. This endowment provides a permanent source of funds to operate Kids Cafe® and other programs to feed Arizona's children.

Sponsor: Corporate sponsors for Kids Cafe® programs make a substantial difference. From multinational corporations to small neighborhood restaurants, our programs have blossomed with the support of such benefactors.

Start a New Cafe: You can also help Westside Food Bank start a new Kids Cafe®. It's a substantial commitment, but one that is very rewarding.

An average Kids Cafe® program costs from $30,000 to $50,000 per year to feed 100 kids, five days per week, all year long, depending on the type of meal that is served.

For further information about making donations, sponsoring a Kids CafeĀ® program, or volunteering your time to help, contact our Kids CafeĀ® Manager, Laura Brill, at (623) 344-2161, or by email at:lmbrill@firstfoodbank.org