In Southeast Texas, 1 in 4 children are at-risk of hunger, which means they don’t have consistent access to enough nutritious food.
Volunteers with UnitedHealthcare’s Do Good. Live Well. employee initiative recently gathered at Houston’s Odom Elementary School to help close that gap by distributing fresh produce and nonperishable food items to students and their families through the Backpack Buddy Program.
The program provides groceries and nutritious, kid-friendly meals for students and their families helping to ensure balanced meals when kids are home from school. In addition to the food distribution, UnitedHealthcare also donated a $30,000 grant to the Houston Food Bank to help support future efforts.
Students from eight Houston-area schools, grades K-12, benefit from the free meals. The program directly aligns with UnitedHealthcare’s Do Good. Live Well. initiative to build healthier communities by decreasing hunger and obesity while increasing physical activity.
The volunteers enjoyed assembling take home food sacks filled with fresh fruit, vegetables and nutritious snacks which will last throughout the weekend and school holidays. At the end of the day, volunteers proudly handed out a total of 11,928 meals, feeding 916 children and 229 households.