From KERA News:
For many North Texas families, summer break means a few months of fun and freedom. For others, the season is a battle with food insecurity.
When schools close for the summer, the meals many students rely on throughout the year end, leaving families in search of resources to fill the gap.
In Texas, nearly one in five children live in a food-insecure household, and summer break only heightens the situation.
Some school districts like Dallas ISD follow regulations to provide free meals through a summer meal program. They aim to target not only families in the school district, but the entire Dallas community.
“We want to ensure that all students and the community children are all well-nourished throughout the summer and that they’re ready to learn when they come back in the fall,” Melinda Hillis, assistant director of food services, said.
But some communities lack other resources like transportation or the finances for daycare, making food programs hard to take advantage of. They need more support to tackle food insecurities for their kids.
One North Texas organization has taken on the responsibility of providing the resources needed to make summer easier.
Bridge Builders is a nonprofit that works to restore and empower the South Dallas Bonton community. The organization focuses on resources like food access, housing, rehabilitation and transportation to ensure viable living in the neighborhood.
The Bonton neighborhood is what’s known as a food desert — an area without a full-service grocery store within a mile radius. That lack of access to fresh foods means many residents are vulnerable to health problems.