NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 19, 2024 / Regions Bank
In 2006, one nonprofit had a vision and two vans to serve meals to children in need. Discover how Kids' Meals is scaling to feed 26,000 pre-kindergarteners a day thanks to support from Regions' New Markets Tax Credit group. By Kim Borges | July 9, 2024
You could call being the first U.S. city to end childhood hunger an audacious goal.
But Kids' Meals, a Houston nonprofit focused on feeding children aged five and younger whose families face economic challenges, is confident they're up to the task. And, in June, the organization took a huge step toward achieving it with the groundbreaking of a new location thanks to an investment by Regions Bank's New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) team.
"Today was a humbling moment and we are especially grateful for the generous support we've received from Houston's philanthropic community, investors and volunteers as we couldn't do it without them," said Beth Harp, CEO of Kids' Meals, Inc., during the groundbreaking. "The growth made possible by the Greater Houston community is incredible and we look forward to feeding and serving thousands more Houston-area children in our new facility upon completion in mid-2025."
That new 50,000 square-foot facility will provide a vital boost to Kids' Meals' food preparation, storage and meal distribution capabilities by allowing the organization to serve 26,000 preschool-aged children each weekday by 2031. It's a long way from the organization's 2006 beginnings with two vans delivering meals. Since then, the van fleet has grown to 21, with Kids' Meals providing more than 14 million meals to children across 50-plus Houston-area zip codes. They're on track to deliver 2.7 million meals this year alone.
Regions served as the NMTC investor with BlueHub Capital, a national nonprofit community development finance organization, providing the NMTC allocation. The funding supports the retention of 46 permanent full-time employees and will more than triple the number of meals served each year from 2.1 million to 6.5 million.
The Kids' Meals NMTC investment by Regions is just one of several recent projects helping expand access to quality jobs, health care, education and additional critical services in under-resourced communities. The team also invested in community projects in Miami and Dallas, among additional cities and towns.
"The New Markets Tax Credit program is an important resource that helps nonprofits grow and address many community issues," said Courtney Nolan, New Markets Tax Credit relationship manager for Regions Bank. "Through the New Markets Tax Credit program, we can enhance our mission of service and help build inclusive prosperity for all. We're proud to be part of the team supporting Kids' Meals, and we know it will make a real and meaningful difference in the lives of children and families across Houston for years to come."
It's a meaningful difference involving far more than delivering meals. Kids' Meals also works with 70-plus community partners to connect families with a variety of resources like early childhood education and STEM education, case management services, literacy programs, job training and workforce development programs, and community health support.
In addition to the bank's NMTC investment, nearly 20 Regions associates in Houston have also personally invested their time by preparing groceries for families and packing lunches for children during two Kids' Meals volunteer projects.
"Kids' Meals is providing our youngest neighbors with access to nutritious meals to help them grow and thrive," said Caroline Vérot Moore, Commercial Banking leader and market executive for Regions Bank in Houston. "Their lifechanging work is addressing food insecurity today while working to break the cycle of poverty long-term. Our team is incredibly proud to support their efforts."
Regions Associates - Part of Kids' Meals' Lunch-Packing Bunch:
We mentioned bank team members have volunteered at Kids' Meals. Here, we learn more from two about why and what it means:
"Nutrition is important for everyone. Investing in children's development helps them reach their full potential. By volunteering with Kids' Meals, we can make a difference in young lives, serve as positive role models and show kindness to elevate our entire community."
-Tranyce Moore, Commercial Banking administrative assistant
"Kids' Meals feeds more than 8,000 kids per day to help improve their lives. It made us happy to know we could enrich children's lives just by sharing our time. I'm proud to work for a company that values the importance of investing in our community."
-Cesar Guerra, Commercial Banking relationship manager
Kids' Meals In the News
Read more about the Kids' Meals June 4 groundbreaking.
About Kids' Meals
In 2024, Kids' Meals will deliver more than 2.7 million free, healthy meals to the homes of hungry preschool-aged children who face debilitating hunger due to extreme poverty. Since 2006, Kids' Meals has delivered more than 14 million meals and connected families to vital wraparound resources to help end the cycle of poverty. Kids' Meals is the only program of its kind in the nation delivering an average of 9,869 free, healthy meals every weekday to 56 Houston-area zip codes. Visit , or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X
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SOURCE: Regions Bank
2024年8月19日,Regions Bank位于马萨诸塞州诺桑普顿。
2006年,一个非营利组织有一个愿景和两辆面向有需要的儿童提供餐点的面包车。发现Kids' Meals如何通过Regions' New Markets Tax Credit团队的支持在不断扩大规模,以一天为期前学前儿童提供26000个餐点。
由Kim Borges | 2024年7月9日。
你可以称之为是结束儿童饥饿的第一个美国城市是一个大胆的目标。
但是,Houston非营利组织Kids' Meals专注于为经济面临挑战的5岁及以下儿童提供食物,他们相信自己能够胜任这项任务。在六月份,该组织通过Regions Bank的新市场税收信贷(NMTC)团队的投资,通过新地点的奠基迈出了实现这一目标的重要一步。
Kids' Meals将建设一座新的50,000平方英尺的设施,为其食品制备、储存和餐饮分配能力提供重要支持,到2031年,这个组织每个工作日将为26000名学龄前儿童提供服务。这是距离该组织2006年两辆面包车提供餐点的开端又走了一大步。自那时以来,该面包车车队已经扩大到21辆,Kids' Meals为50多个Houston区邮政编码的儿童提供了超过1,400万餐。他们正在今年繁忙的交付着270万餐。
Regions担任NMTC投资者,国家非营利社区发展金融组织BlueHub Capital提供了NMTC分配。这笔资金支持保留46个全职员工,并将每年提供的餐点数量从210万增加到650万。
Regions对于Kids' Meals的NMTC投资仅是最近几个项目之一,帮助在资源匮乏的社区扩大接触优质工作、医疗保健、教育和其他关键服务。该团队还投资了迈阿密和达拉斯的社区项目,还有其他城市和乡镇。
Regions Bank新市场税收信贷关系经理Courtney Nolan表示:“新市场税收信贷计划是帮助非营利组织增长并解决许多社区问题的重要资源。通过新市场税收信贷计划,我们可以增强我们的服务使命,并帮助建立包容性繁荣。我们为成为支持Kids' Meals团队的一部分而感到自豪,并知道它将在未来的几年中改变休斯顿地区儿童和家庭的生活模式。”
这是一个有意义的差异,涉及的远不仅是提供餐点。Kids' Meals还与70多个社区合作伙伴合作,为家庭提供各种资源,如儿童早期教育和STEM教育、案件管理服务、读写课程、职业培训和劳动力发展计划、社区健康支持等方面。
除了该银行的NMTC投资外,近20名Regions员工在休斯顿还亲自投资他们的时间,为家庭准备杂货和为儿童准备午餐。
商业银行领袖和Regions银行在休斯顿的市场负责人Caroline Vérot Moore表示:“Kids' Meals为我们最年幼的邻居提供了营养餐点,帮助他们成长和茁壮成长。他们的改变人生的工作正在解决今天的粮食安全问题,同时努力打破长期存在的贫困循环。我们的团队为支持他们的工作而感到非常自豪。”
我们提到了银行团队成员在Kids' Meals工作。在这里,我们从两个方面了解更多信息,包括为什么以及它意味着什么:
“Kids' Meals午餐打包团队”的Regions员工:
我们提到银行团队成员曾在Kids' Meals进行志愿服务,这里,我们从两个成员处了解更多他们的看法和意义:
营养对每个人都很重要。投资于儿童的发展有助于他们充分发挥自己的潜力。通过与Kids' Meals志愿服务,我们可以在年轻生命中产生影响,作为积极的榜样,表现出仁慈,并提升整个社区的互相尊重。
-Tranyce Moore,商业银行行政助理
“Kids' Meals每天为8,000多名儿童提供饮食,以改善他们的生活。能知道我们可以通过分享自己的时间来丰富孩子们的生活,让我们感到高兴。我为能在一个重视投资社区重要性的公司工作感到骄傲。”
-Cesar Guerra,商业银行关系经理
Kids' Meals在新闻中
了解更多关于儿童餐的六月四日开创性事件。
关于儿童餐
2024年,儿童餐将向面临极端贫困导致营养不良的学前儿童送出超过270万份免费的健康餐。自2006年以来,儿童餐已经送出超过1400万份餐食,并与家庭联系起来,为结束贫困循环提供了至关重要的周边资源。儿童餐是全美唯一一个每个工作日向56个休斯顿地区邮政编码提供平均9869份免费健康餐的计划。请访问网站,或者在Facebook、Instagram和X上关注我们。
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来源:Regions银行。