FREE kids meal: Kids’ Meals expands its mission to feed Houston’s youngest residents with new building and delivery van

As food insecurity continues to rise across the Houston area, local nonprofit Kids’ Meals is expanding its reach to ensure no preschooler goes hungry.

Just weeks after celebrating the opening of a new 50,000-square-foot facility in Spring Branch, the nonprofit has unveiled another milestone: a new delivery van made possible by an $88,000 grant from the Baker Hughes Foundation.

A bigger home to serve more families

The new purpose-built campus, which officially opened on September 24, 2025, gives Kids’ Meals the space and infrastructure to dramatically increase its impact.

Leaders with the nonprofit say the facility will allow them to deliver up to 26,000 meals every weekday by 2031, more than double the 10,000 meals they currently provide to children across 56 Houston ZIP codes.

One of the building’s standout features is a giant brown bag sculpture at the entrance, a symbol of the organization’s daily mission to deliver nutritious meals to food insecure families.

“We have so much capacity in our new headquarters to grow. Right now we’re feeding over 10,000 every weekday, which is extraordinary, but we also want to grow that number.” Ali Flanders Dodson, Chief Advancement Officer of Kids’ Meals said. “New vans like this one from the Baker Hughes Foundation enable us to increase the number of children that we’re serving every single day.”

Families must qualify to receive free meals through the program. Eligibility includes:

• Having a child under five
• Living within one of the 56 delivery ZIP codes
• Qualifying for Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, or TANF

Applications are available here.

A new van to deliver “more than meals”

Now, thanks to the Baker Hughes Foundation, Kids’ Meals is taking another step forward with a new delivery van dedicated to expanding meal delivery routes and reaching more families in need.

The organization says the new van will help the nonprofit expand its reach across Greater Houston and continue its mission to end childhood hunger.

To celebrate the donation, Baker Hughes employees came together to pack the van with hundreds of meals and juice boxes. Volunteers also decorated lunch bags with drawings and uplifting notes to brighten each child’s day.

“It’s a proud moment, not just for me, but for all the employees at Baker Hughes, knowing that we can contribute, we can give back, and this is making an impact on people’s lives and helping the kids of the future,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes.

As the van driver, Liz Rodriguez, loaded meals, she shared her excitement:

“I’m so happy to have it. It helps me a lot to feed more children.”

Meanwhile, volunteers on the ground explained why the initiative mattered:

“Today this initiative is not just about food, but we are proud to add to the reach of Kids’ Meals with a new van that will take food to more than a thousand more children.” Claudia Hualde, a Baker Hughes volunteer said. “That is very important for us because in Houston there are many people in need with low resources.”

Hualde’s daughter, Emilia, helped decorate bags with hand-drawn pictures and encouraging messages.

“I write things like, ‘You’re smart like a turtle’ or ‘You’re strong like an elephant,’ something to make them happy,” Emilia said.

Community support remains essential

Kids’ Meals remains the nation’s only free, healthy home meal delivery program for food-insecure preschool-aged children. The organization says community support through donations, volunteer time, and advocacy is essential to sustain and grow its mission.

To learn more about Kids’ Meals, volunteer, or make a donation, visit kidsmealsinc.org.