Kids’ Meals Reaches 1.5 Million Meals in 2020 and Unveils New Welcome Center Powered by Reliant

—26,000 volunteers annually will enter through remodeled welcome center as they help end childhood hunger in Houston—

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As Thanksgiving volunteers enter the front doors of Kids’ Meals, a local nonprofit that delivers free, healthy meals to preschool-aged children, they will be among the first to experience the new welcome center designed to inspire and greet Houstonians on a mission to end childhood hunger. Today, the organization celebrated the completion of the Kids’ Meals Welcome Center Powered by Reliant, and to mark the occasion, Reliant employee volunteers joined Kids’ Meals staff to help pack a record-breaking 1.5 million meals in 2020.

“Our welcome center is the launching pad for over 26,000 volunteers who walk through our front doors every year, and we’re thrilled Reliant has generously provided a bright, happy space that showcases the impact of our program,” said Beth Harp, executive director, Kids’ Meals.

Reliant’s $50,000 donation supported a top-down remodel of the welcome center, including reconfiguring and redesigning the space, updating furniture and TV monitors for volunteer check-ins, and supplying a portable power charging station. In addition, Reliant recently served as the Kids’ Hero Underwriter at the 2020 Annual Harvest Luncheon.

For 14 years, Kids’ Meals has worked to feed children who are too young to receive school-based free meal programs. It is the only organization nationally to deliver meals to families who have little means of obtaining food for their young children on a regular basis. During school holidays, the number of meals expands to include school-aged siblings, so the organization saw a significant increase in demand as the COVID-19 pandemic swept Houston and closed schools across the area. As a result, the program experienced 135% growth overnight in March.

“Kids’ Meals has stepped up in a substantial way to look after our youngest community members during a difficult year,” said Elizabeth Killinger, president, Reliant. “Supporting local organizations and the communities where we live and work is at the heart of who we are as a company. Kids’ Meals fills a significant gap and we’re honored to join the thousands of Houstonians who volunteer to pack meals, donate food or make deliveries every year.”

In 2017, Kids’ Meals was chosen by Reliant employees as one of three nonprofit finalists in Reliant’s crowd-sourced charitable giving program, Reliant Gives, and ultimately was granted with a $10,000 donation.

About Reliant, an NRG company

Reliant powers, protects and simplifies life by bringing electricity, security and related services to homes and businesses across Texas. Serving customers and the community is at the core of what we do, and the company is recognized nationally for outstanding customer experience. Reliant is part of NRG, a Fortune 500 company that creates value by generating electricity and providing energy solutions to more than 3.7 million residential, small business and commercial customers across the U.S. and Canada. NRG’s competitive residential electricity business, which includes Reliant, is one of the largest in the country. For more information about Reliant, visit reliant.com and connect with Reliant on Facebook at facebook.com/reliantenergy and Twitter or Instagram @reliantenergy. PUCT Certificate #10007.

About Kids’ Meals

Kids’ Meals mission is to end childhood hunger by delivering free healthy meals to the doorsteps of Houston’s hungriest preschool-aged children and through collaboration provide their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty. Kids’ Meals is a first responder to children ages five-years old and under facing debilitating hunger due to extreme poverty. Every weekday, year-round, volunteers prepare thousands of healthy lunches consisting of a sandwich, nutritious snack, fruit item, and 100% juice or milk. Our ten vans deliver the meals M-F to children enrolled in our program. We currently serve ten Houston-area routes that target 44 zip codes where the need is critical.