University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Team Up With Kids’ Meals Houston
10/21/2022 7:37:00 AM | General
Houston student-athletes support area children with meal packaging
HOUSTON – This month, 35 University of Houston student-athletes across six sports worked together to package 150-plus decorative lunch bags to support Kids' Meals Houston which aims to end childhood hunger in the Bayou City.
Houston student-athletes, through the university's "CORE 1101" first-year/sophomore transition course, packed fruits, a protein, one snack item and water or apple juice which were then distributed throughout Harris County. The organization delivers free healthy meals, year-round to the doorsteps of Houston's hungriest preschool-aged children.
"My experience packaging meals for Kids' Meals Houston was great," Houston Track and Field multi-event freshman athlete Ali Mack said. "It was an amazing opportunity to be able to help those who are in need especially those of the Houston community. It really showed me that the simplest act can be extremely helpful to other people around me and I'm very appreciative that I got the opportunity to help with Kids' Meals Houston."
Christal Peterson, Houston Athletics' Director for Student-Athlete Development, helped organize the efforts and spoke about the importance of giving back to the community.
"The best way to find yourself is through the service of others," Peterson said. "Since COVID-19, our students have been deprived of connecting with each other and the community around them. This it is not because they do not want to, but instead they do not know where to start. I wanted to find a way to bridge these gaps and that is where Kids Meal Houston comes into play. Kids Meal Houston has provided me the opportunity to create a program in which students not only serve the community but also get to know and connect with this same community, all while displaying their creativity."
According to Kids' Meals, there are more that 50,000 preschool-aged children, or 1 out of 4 preschool aged children, who may not know where their next meal is coming from each day in the City of Houston while Harris County has the highest rate of child food insecurity in the nation for highly populated areas.
"I had a lot of fun packing bags for the kids," Houston Track and Field freshman thrower Kenneth Burgess said. "It made me feel like I was making a difference in our community and put a smile on my face. It is important to give back to the community because you don't know how difficult it is for someone, and if you could help, then even a little bit is worth it."
Houston's CORE 1101 provides first-year students with opportunities to develop skills, behaviors and attitudes exhibited by successful scholars, including learning and study strategies, communication, time-management, and career and major exploration, as well as connection to UH campus culture and resources.
"Packaging meals on behalf of Kids' Meal's Houston meant so much to me and the rest of the student-athletes in my class," Houston Soccer redshirt freshman goalkeeper Haley Woodward said. "I give credit to our instructor, Christal Peterson, for working tirelessly to allow us the opportunity to help our community. In our class, we learned that Harris County is ranked No. 1 in the nation as having the highest percentage of children living with food insecurity in highly populated counties. Knowing that the county our University is in is suffering this much really hit home for a lot of us in the class. We got together and decorated bags with inspirational quotes/drawings that we later filled with food to give to Kids' Meals' Houston to distribute. To know that these meals could be the only thing that a child could eat that day is astonishing. We were blessed with this opportunity to give back and I hope that others recognize how one little thing can help and that others continue to do the same."
ABOUT KIDS' MEALS HOUSTON
Since 2006, Kids' Meals has been making and delivering free, healthy meals directly to the homes of hungry children. Since inception, we have given more than 10.3 million free meals to food insecure children in 46 zip codes in Harris County and Montgomery County. Kids' Meals is a first responder to children 5 and under facing debilitating hunger due to extreme poverty.
Kids' Meals Houston mission is to end childhood hunger by delivering free healthy meals to the doorsteps of Greater Houston's hungriest preschool-aged children and through collaboration provide their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty.
Kids' Meals is the only program of its kind in the nation. What began as two delivery vans has grown into a fleet of 13 vans sharing not just food, but connection to more than 50 wrap-around service partners who help families break the poverty cycle. But it all begins with growing healthier children, which is why we are laser-focused on feeding children 5 and under who don't have access to free school-based meals.
Harris County is home to more than 50,000 preschool-aged children living in food insecurity. Our goal is to be feeding 26,000 children per day by 2031. We believe Houston can be the first city to end childhood hunger.
Houston student-athletes, through the university's "CORE 1101" first-year/sophomore transition course, packed fruits, a protein, one snack item and water or apple juice which were then distributed throughout Harris County. The organization delivers free healthy meals, year-round to the doorsteps of Houston's hungriest preschool-aged children.
"My experience packaging meals for Kids' Meals Houston was great," Houston Track and Field multi-event freshman athlete Ali Mack said. "It was an amazing opportunity to be able to help those who are in need especially those of the Houston community. It really showed me that the simplest act can be extremely helpful to other people around me and I'm very appreciative that I got the opportunity to help with Kids' Meals Houston."
Christal Peterson, Houston Athletics' Director for Student-Athlete Development, helped organize the efforts and spoke about the importance of giving back to the community.
"The best way to find yourself is through the service of others," Peterson said. "Since COVID-19, our students have been deprived of connecting with each other and the community around them. This it is not because they do not want to, but instead they do not know where to start. I wanted to find a way to bridge these gaps and that is where Kids Meal Houston comes into play. Kids Meal Houston has provided me the opportunity to create a program in which students not only serve the community but also get to know and connect with this same community, all while displaying their creativity."
According to Kids' Meals, there are more that 50,000 preschool-aged children, or 1 out of 4 preschool aged children, who may not know where their next meal is coming from each day in the City of Houston while Harris County has the highest rate of child food insecurity in the nation for highly populated areas.
"I had a lot of fun packing bags for the kids," Houston Track and Field freshman thrower Kenneth Burgess said. "It made me feel like I was making a difference in our community and put a smile on my face. It is important to give back to the community because you don't know how difficult it is for someone, and if you could help, then even a little bit is worth it."
Houston's CORE 1101 provides first-year students with opportunities to develop skills, behaviors and attitudes exhibited by successful scholars, including learning and study strategies, communication, time-management, and career and major exploration, as well as connection to UH campus culture and resources.
"Packaging meals on behalf of Kids' Meal's Houston meant so much to me and the rest of the student-athletes in my class," Houston Soccer redshirt freshman goalkeeper Haley Woodward said. "I give credit to our instructor, Christal Peterson, for working tirelessly to allow us the opportunity to help our community. In our class, we learned that Harris County is ranked No. 1 in the nation as having the highest percentage of children living with food insecurity in highly populated counties. Knowing that the county our University is in is suffering this much really hit home for a lot of us in the class. We got together and decorated bags with inspirational quotes/drawings that we later filled with food to give to Kids' Meals' Houston to distribute. To know that these meals could be the only thing that a child could eat that day is astonishing. We were blessed with this opportunity to give back and I hope that others recognize how one little thing can help and that others continue to do the same."
ABOUT KIDS' MEALS HOUSTON
Since 2006, Kids' Meals has been making and delivering free, healthy meals directly to the homes of hungry children. Since inception, we have given more than 10.3 million free meals to food insecure children in 46 zip codes in Harris County and Montgomery County. Kids' Meals is a first responder to children 5 and under facing debilitating hunger due to extreme poverty.
Kids' Meals Houston mission is to end childhood hunger by delivering free healthy meals to the doorsteps of Greater Houston's hungriest preschool-aged children and through collaboration provide their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty.
Kids' Meals is the only program of its kind in the nation. What began as two delivery vans has grown into a fleet of 13 vans sharing not just food, but connection to more than 50 wrap-around service partners who help families break the poverty cycle. But it all begins with growing healthier children, which is why we are laser-focused on feeding children 5 and under who don't have access to free school-based meals.
Harris County is home to more than 50,000 preschool-aged children living in food insecurity. Our goal is to be feeding 26,000 children per day by 2031. We believe Houston can be the first city to end childhood hunger.
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