The organization hosted a groundbreaking for the new facility
that was funded by “Building Hope” campaign donors
and BlueHub Capital Investment
HOUSTON – June 4, 2024 – Kids’ Meals, Inc., a nonprofit combatting childhood food insecurity and hunger, broke ground today on its new headquarters that will serve 26,000 hungry kids every day across the Greater Houston Area.
As the only organization in the country delivering free, healthy meals to the doorsteps of Houston’s hungriest children, Kids’ Meals serves children ages five and under, who are at a critical developmental point and are too young to access school-based programs. Since its founding in 2006, Kids’ Meals has delivered more than 14 million meals to children in 56 Houston-area zip codes, hitting a new record of 2.4 million meals in 2023 alone, and is on pace to deliver 2.7 million meals in 2024.
“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, Kids’ Meals, Inc. “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.”
Kids’ Meals Chief Executive Officer Beth Harp
Purpose-Built Facility Will Tackle Childhood Hunger
Every day, an estimated 80,000 children are living food insecure across the city. With every natural disaster and continued economic challenges, the demand for Kids’ Meals’ vital program increases, maximizing the organization’s existing 18,500 square foot facility, which includes a warehouse, volunteer space, a van loading area and offices.
Located in Spring Branch at 8790 Hammerly Boulevard, the future facility will be purpose-built to facilitate long-term goals and reach a larger population, providing a vital boost in space for food preparation and storage, volunteer efforts, meeting and office space for the nonprofit’s 43 employees and an enhanced van loading dock area. The 50,000 square-foot facility will be have the capacity to feed 26,000 preschool-aged children each weekday by 2031. Partners supporting the new headquarters include Pin Oak Interests as project manager, Kirksey Architecture as architect and Satterfield & Pontikes as the general contractor.
A rendering of the future headquarters of Kids’ Meals
“Building Hope” Campaign Reaches New Milestone
The groundbreaking ceremony was made possible by many private philanthropic donors and lead investor BlueHub Capital, who made a $32.5 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investment that yielded $6.2 million directly to Kids’ Meals. BlueHub Capital partnered with Regions Bank, who served as the investor and purchased the NMTCs. Classic Lake served as Kids’ Meals’ NMTC advisor and structured the transaction. With their support, the new facility will allow Kids’ Meals to increase the number of meals served annually from 2.7 million to more than 7 million, benefitting 14,550 unique families.
Kids’ Meals launched its Building Hope Campaign in 2021 and, since then, the organization has received generous donations, including over $1 million commitments each from The Huffington Foundation, Group 1 Automotive, The Brown Foundation, The Chao Foundation, The Cullen Foundation, The Fondren Foundation, The W.T. & Louise J. Moran Foundation and numerous individuals and anonymous donors. Campaign co-chairs, former Group 1 Automotive president and CEO Earl Hesterberg and his wife, Susan Hesterberg, continue to lead fundraising for Kids’ Meals campaign.
Pictured left to right are Earl Hesterberg, Building Hope Campaign Chair; Beth Harp, Kids’ Meals CEO;
Amy Peck, Vice Mayor Pro-Tem; Twila Carter, City Council Member; Letitia Plummer, City Council Member
Shovels, Hardhats and Guests
Local officials, stakeholders and partners were in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony today. Chief Executive Officer Beth Harp, capital campaign co-chair Earl Hesterberg, and City of Houston Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Amy Peck made remarks to the crowd before the ceremonial dig. Guests enjoyed refreshments and light bites following the ceremony. Kids’ Meals worked with several partners on in-kind donations for the groundbreaking ceremony, including LD Systems for audio-visual and Spectrum on rentals.
A crowd of over 150 Kids’ Meals supporters gathered at the Groundbreaking Ceremony
for the future headquarters of Kids’ Meals
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 www.kidsmealsinc.org, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
