Walmart donates $15.5 million for food, nutrition children’s programs

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Walmart Foundation is making a big statement in support of free school meal and education programs.

The organization will give away $15.5 million in grants to seven national nonprofits to support free meal and nutrition education programs this summer and throughout the school year. The programs in more than 7,700 communities across the country will help over 1 million low-income children and their families gain access to critical meals and teach them how to cook and eat healthy together.

“While many children look forward to the summer months as a time to relax, it can be a difficult time for families who rely on meals at school,” said Karrie Denniston, director of hunger relief and nutrition at the Walmart Foundation. “As in years past, this summer we continue our work with longstanding nonprofit partners to help more kids access meals and learn to develop nutritious eating habits so they can live healthy lives.”

The nonprofits receiving funding from the Walmart Foundation include: National Council of Young Men’s Christian Association (Y-USA), National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative, National 4-H Council, National League of Cities, FoodCorps and Common Threads.

These grants come at a challenging time for the millions of children who are out of school and without access to school meals and daily routines. Many children who benefit from eating free and reduced priced school meals do not participate in summer meal programs.

Although this gap is slowly closing, only one in six low-income children who relied on school lunch during the school year participated in a summer nutrition program last year, according to a new report issued by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). This leaves many children vulnerable to hunger and poor nutrition during the summertime and poses a risk to future health.