Kids Cafe

Kids Cafe is one of the nation's largest free meal service programs for children. Founded in 1993 by Feeding America, ConAgra Foods became the program’s national sponsor six years later, and today there are over 1,300 Kids Cafe locations across the country. To give some perspective, there are now more Kids Cafes in the United States than IHOP Restaurants!

Food Bank for the Heartland provides food for 10 Kids Cafes and four after school snack sites in the Omaha and Council Bluffs metro area. We serve 2,000 meals each week to children who are at-risk of being hungry. A $100 donation provides 68 meals for children in the program.

The goal of the Kids Cafe program is to provide an evening meal to children in our community in partnership with organizations that offer a safe haven after school. Food Bank for the Heartland works with the following locations to provide Kids Cafe:

Lydia House at the Open Door Mission
Ruth K. Solomon Center for Girls
Camp Fire USA at Gomez-Heritage School
Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership (ENCAP)
The Hope Center for Kids
Boys & Girls Club, Carter Lake
Salvation Army North Corps
South Omaha YMCA
Camp Fire USA at Saint Mary
Boys & Girls Club, Council Bluffs

For information on starting a Kids Cafe, please contact Ericka Smrcka, Director of Programs & Advocacy, 402.905.4803.