Rise n Dine Weekends Initiative


Hunger Doesn’t Take the Weekend Off: 

Child Food Insecurity in the United States

The United States is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, yet millions of children face empty pantries when school cafeterias close for the weekend. In 2023, 17.9% of U.S. households with children, about 6.5 million households, experienced food insecurity; in 8.9% of households with children, children themselves were food insecure at some point during the year (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service).


Scope of the Problem

School meals are a weekday lifeline. Preliminary FY2024 participation shows the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves about 29.7 million students daily, and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) reaches roughly 15.5 million students, illustrating how central schools are to daily child nutrition.

Need is widespread and uneven. Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2025 finds child food insecurity in every U.S. county and congressional district, with local child rates approaching 50% in some counties and an estimated ~13.4 million children (about 1 in 5) living in food-insecure households in 2023.

The weekend is where the safety net frays. By design, NSLP/SBP are structured around meals served on school days, and most districts do not offer regular Saturday/Sunday meal service, creating a recurring 48-hour nutrition gap for many families.


How Hunger Impacts Children

Hunger shows up in classrooms and clinics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that eating breakfast at school is associated with better attendance, fewer missed days, and stronger test performance; healthier dietary behaviors are also positively associated with higher grades.

Pediatric authorities emphasize the health stakes. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends routine screening for food insecurity using the two-item Hunger Vital Sign and connecting families to nutrition supports, reflecting evidence linking food insecurity to worse child health and higher health-care use.

There is encouraging evidence that weekend food supports help students. Research from the Carsey School of Public Policy (University of New Hampshire) found that introducing a school “BackPack” program raised end-of-grade reading scores for economically disadvantaged primary students (with smaller but positive math effects). A University of Illinois study reported improved Friday attendance patterns among food-insecure students receiving weekend backpacks.


What Exists Today, and Where It Falls Short

Weekday school meals remain a cornerstone. In 2023, the USDA finalized a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) rule lowering the minimum identified student percentage from 40% to 25%, enabling more high-need schools to offer no-charge breakfast and lunch to all students, expanding weekday reach and reducing administrative barriers.

Summer support has expanded as well. Beginning in 2024, Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) provides $120 per eligible child when school is out; USDA estimated nearly 21 million children would receive benefits in the first season. These advances are vital, yet school-year weekends remain largely uncovered.

Community programs help but can’t meet all weekend need. Food-bank models such as BackPack, Kids Cafe, and School Pantry fill gaps outside the school day, but availability is uneven and demand often exceeds supply. Closing the Friday-to-Monday gap is the focus of our program.


Our Response: Rise & Dine Weekends (under the Hope Against Hunger Initiative)

Yellow Hope Foundation’s Rise & Dine Weekends closes the 48-hour gap by providing nutritious, easy-to-prepare, culturally responsive meal kits so children return to school on Monday fed, focused, and ready to learn. We coordinate with school districts, food banks, and volunteers to prioritize students at greatest risk. The program complements weekday NSLP/SBP, leverages CEP schools for reach, and helps families stretch Summer EBT grocery dollars with shelf-stable staples children can safely prepare.


Implementation Strategy (in brief)

We will begin with a four-city East Bay pilot - Fremont, Union City, Newark, and Hayward - in partnership with local school districts and the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Families will pick up on Saturdays at designated school or community site(s). Early measurement will focus on what we control: enrollment, kits prepared and picked up, missed-pickup rate, item usability/satisfaction, volunteer capacity, food safety, and per-kit cost. After the pilot, we will tune the program and expand to additional geographies. From there, we will scale region-by-region into other states, prioritizing areas with strong food-bank capacity, substantial CEP adoption, and efficient delivery routes. As partnerships and funding grow, the program will extend to a nationwide network, ensuring consistent weekend nutrition for children across the country. (This approach complements weekday NSLP/SBP and helps families optimize Summer EBT resources.)


Join Us

No child in America should go hungry, not even for two days. Your donation, volunteer time, and school partnerships can help ensure Rise & Dine Weekends reaches every child who needs it. Together, we can make sure hunger never takes the weekend off.


Nonpartisan note

Yellow Hope Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit. This brief uses official data and institutional guidance for educational purposes and does not endorse any public official, party, or legislation.


Selected references (for the endnotes section of your Google Doc)

  • USDA ERS :  Food Security in the U.S.: Key Statistics & Graphics (2023 household food insecurity among families with children; 17.9% and 8.9% figures). https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/
  • USDA FNS :  Child Nutrition Tables (NSLP/SBP participation; FY2024 preliminary). https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/child-nutrition-tables
  • Feeding America :  Map the Meal Gap 2025 (child food insecurity in every county/district; ~13.4M children; local rates approaching 50%). https://www.feedingamerica.org/research/map-the-meal-gap
  • CDC :  Health and Academics; School Meals & Academic Outcomes. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/health_and_academics/index.htm ; https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/child-nutrition/index.htm
  • AAP :  Food Insecurity resources & Hunger Vital Sign screener. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/screening-technical-assistance-and-resource-center/food-insecurity/
  • USDA FNS :  Community Eligibility Provision (final rule lowering minimum ISP from 40% to 25%). https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/community-eligibility-provision
  • USDA FNS :  Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) program page and press resources. https://www.fns.usda.gov/sebt/summer-ebt
  • Feeding America :  Hunger relief program models (BackPack, Kids Cafe, School Pantry). https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/hunger-relief-programs
  • UNH Carsey School :  Weekend “BackPack” programs and academic outcomes. https://carsey.unh.edu/publications

University of Illinois :  Research on weekend backpacks and Friday attendance. (Summary link or institutional repository) https://illinois.edu/