Kids Cafe is a national program of America’s Second Harvest that provides nutritious meals for children who may otherwise go to bed hungry. Harvest Hope Food Bank provides food for Kids Cafes, and each site provides a safe, nurturing after school program. Volunteers or staff at each Kids Cafe prepare the meals and provide homework assistance. Many Kids Cafes also offer additional activities and programs that meet the unique needs of the children they serve.  

Because many children do not have reliable access to nutritious food on the weekends and holidays, several of our Kids Cafes also operate a BackPack Program, another national program of America's Second Harvest. Each week, program staff stuff each child's backpack full of nutritious, easy prepare foods for the weekend. 

Support our Kids Cafe and BackPack Programs

In the 2005-2006 school year, our Kids Cafes served more than 30,000 meals and snacks. While we are very proud of what our programs accomplished last year, we remain dedicated to expanding our reach to meet the needs of our region's children. In almost one-third of schools in our 18-county service area, 80% or more of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch last year.

You can help us by spreading the word about Kids Cafe and encouraging your community to join us. We are particularly looking to expand to high need areas such as Clarendon and Lee counties where in 2003, 28-30% of children under-18 were living in poverty, a number that was more than 10 percentage points higher than the national rate.

We would also appreciate your support for our existing programs. Here are just some of the ways you and your community can help us:

Program Wish List (download as Word Document)

Kids Cafe Needs

Food transport equipment: We are in need of professional-grade food transport equipment that can store trays or pans of food and maintain food temperature. This will enable Kids Cafe sites with a nearby (but not on-site) kitchen to transport hot meals to the children they serve.

Kitchen equipment: We are also always in need of donated kitchen equipment (stoves, microwaves, etc.) and donated labor to help organizations get kitchens up to DHEC standards. This will allow more Kids Cafe sites to serve hot meals.

Hygiene items (small or travel-size is best): toothpaste, deodorant, soap, mouthwash, washcloths, laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner

School supplies: backpacks, notebook paper, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, construction paper, rulers

BackPack Needs

Our goal is to provide each child in the program with a backpack full of nutritious food at the end of each week during the school year. We strive to fill each child’s backpack with enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, including a 4-person family dinner. The following items make up a complete backpack that meets USDA nutrition standards for each meal. 

As we are continuing to expand our program, we are always in need of new backpacks. Standard 15" or 16" school backpacks are ideal.

Ways to Give

Financial Support: Monetary donations to Harvest Hope and the Kids Cafe are well spent. In fact, 97 cents of every donated dollar goes directly to toward our programs and services.

Food/Backpack Drives: If your organization is interested in organizing a food drive or a backpack drive, please contact us at 803-254-4432 ext 116 or at kidscafe@harvesthope.org. Food drives for one or more specific backpack items (such as fruit cups and canned chicken) or complete backpacks are great ideas and very much appreciated. Backpack drives for new 15" or 16" school backpacks are also great. If you collect more than 200 pounds of product, Harvest Hope will be glad to arrange a pick up. 

Looking for Community Partners

We are also working hard to cultivate sustainable partnerships between Kids Cafes and the communities they serve. If you and/or your organization would like to join in on the great work that are sites are doing, please contact us at 803-254-4432 ext 116 or at kidscafe@harvesthope.org.

Organizational Partners: We are also looking for organizations/corporations who would like to partner with individual Kids Cafe programs to provide support in terms of funding, volunteers, and materials/supplies.

Service Partners: We are also looking for individuals and organizations who provide services that would complement and add to the Kids Cafe programs, such as food preparation, nutrition education, parent education, or child healthcare. Please contact us if you would like to volunteer time and resources to partner with us!

Click here to find out more about starting a Kids Cafe

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