RiceDepot.Org | Food For Kids

A Hungry Child Can't Learn
In 1995, a school nurse in Little Rock called the Arkansas Rice Depot and asked for help providing food to hungry children in her school. She told of children coming to her office complaining of headaches, tummy aches and other health problems. She soon realized that their problems were caused by having little or no food to eat at home. The lack of nutritious food outside of school lunches also caused problems in the classroom for these students. The school counselor reported students who couldn't pay attention, were disruptive and simply didn't try -- all problems that can be caused by hunger.

Because of that first phone call, the Arkansas Rice Depot created the Food For Kids program.

In addition to feeding students across the state, the Food For Kids concept that was pioneered by the Arkansas Rice Depot has since been replicated in 110 cities in 39 states to provide food to hungry children! Food For Kids has seen tremendous growth since its start more than a decade ago. From assisting students in just one Little Rock school in 1995, Food For Kids now has more than 500 participating schools in nearly all of Arkansas' 75 counties.
The only way that the Arkansas Rice Depot continue to provide this service is through the contributions of people like you.

Food For Kids

Food For Kids is a simple program. The Arkansas Rice Depot provides new backpacks and "kid-friendly" ready-to-eat food to participating schools. Through a principal-appointed program coordinator, the food is distributed to students based on need.

Some students are simply provided a high-energy snack at school. Many others are provided with a backpack at the end of the day that is filled with nutritious foods that children can prepare themselves.

During the 2006-07 school year, Food For Kids assisted more than 18,000 hungry children in 502 schools across the state with backpacks filled with food, school supplies, personal care products and other items.

Packs & Pouches

Packs & Pouches is an extension of our Food For Kids program and is designed especially for pregnant teens and teen mothers. This program provides two types of backpacks -- Pregnancy Packs and Mama Pouches.
The Pregnancy Packs will be filled with nutrition information and foods that meet the nutritional requirements of pregnancy, but in a form consistent with the type of food the average teen would consume. After the teen gives birth, she will be given a Mama Pouch. The first Mama Pouch will include supplies like blankets, nightshirts and diapers for the baby as well as nutritious snacks for mom. Each week, the backpack will be filled with food for mom & age-appropriate foods for the infant.

Nearly 2,000 children age 10-17 give birth every year in Arkansas. During the 2006-07 school year, the Packs & Pouches program was able to help 420 pregnant teens with supplemental food and 288 teen mothers with food for themselves and their children across the state. Teen mothers are able to participate in the program until their need is met or until the student graduates from high school.

How You Can Help

The Food For Kids program is made possible by donations of money and food. Your organization can help support this important mission of the Arkansas Rice Depot by hosting a Food For Kids food drive. For more information about organizing a Food For Kids food drive, please call (501) 565-8855.
Organizations already planning a food drive can click the image at left to download an official flyer (in .pdf format) advertising the event.

School sees 'many benefits' during first year of Food For Kids
   "We have just finished our first year with the Food For Kids program. This program has been very beneficial to our students. One particular student, an 8th grader, had been discovered to be losing weight. Through the efforts of all concerned parties and with your tangible gifts, we were able to turn things around for this young man. This success story is just one example of the many benefits that we have seen this year.
   "Often times, our intuition is all that we have to go on concerning which children are in need of this help. We have seen our students having more positive attitudes towards school and learning as a direct result of our participation in this program."
It felt so good to know that with your help, the children were able to get some food to eat when they needed it most. Thank you.

Food For Kids helps family experiencing tough times
   "This has been a busy year. While the [Arkansas Rice Depot Food For Kids] program helped many children, I am remembering one family especially who benefitted greatly from the food that I had on hand.
   "The little boy was in my room. I noticed that he had become withdrawn lately. The counselor called me out in the hall and told me of the things that this little kindergartner and his brothers and sister had been living with. The police arrested his father. It seems that his father had been selling drugs and had made the wrong people mad. The front door of their house had been broken in by men waving guns and threatening the family in order to collect the money due them. By the time the mom was able to get the police to arrive, the men were gone. All of the children were there watching and scared. The front windshield of the car had been shot out by the men he made angry. There had been shots fired at the house.
   "Finally, the mother and children were able to live in a hotel. I'm not sure how long they were there, but there was no food. There was a hot plate, I believe, but with no food, it did little good. I was able to give the counselor enough food to get them through several days and enable the mother to get on her feet. The district pitched in and helped her get housing. All of this took place right before the Christmas holidays. It felt so good to know that with your help, the children were able to get some food to eat when they needed it most. Thank you."

Participating Schools
To find a Food For Kids school in your area, click your county on the map below. If your county is one of the few with no schools participating in our network, please contact us at (501) 565-8855 or via e-mail at contactus@ricedepot.org. Use your browser's back button to return to this page.