How It All Began

While visiting our local high school, we learned about the food pantry on campus, and that the rate of economically disadvantaged families in our area was rising. Some of these students don’t have access to a good breakfast. There are programs in place, but as students reach high school, for many reasons, it becomes more difficult for them to participate.

Hungry students do not always make good decisions or perform to their potential academically. What can we do to help? How can breakfast be more accessible?

We envisioned red baskets filled with granola bars, protein bars, breakfast bars, and like snacks. These baskets would be placed in the classrooms with students having access to these snacks in the mornings (during tutorials) and, at the teacher’s discretion, during the day, if needed.

With Red Baskets and Snacks in hand, we started the program in March 2018 at Newman Smith High School in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD (CFBISD). Once the program was up and running, we expanded to other high schools! In August of 2018, with a generous donation from The Children’s Hunger Fund, we supplied snacks to Newman Smith, Ranchview, RL Turner, and The Early College HS Program at Brookhaven, 4 of the 5 High Schools in CFBISD. Through the school year, we were able to resupply the schools with donations from local churches, friends and family, and t he Facebook Page.

The Program continued to thrive, but it became clear that we needed to become a Non-Profit to increase our ability to connect with the local community in joining us to keep these snacks in the classrooms. October 2019, The Red Basket Program earned Federal Tax Exempt Status as a Non-Profit Organization. With this status, we can now offer individuals and Businesses a Tax Benefit for monetary donations to the program.

To get one of the high schools set up with Red Baskets requires 3000 snacks. To sustain the 4 schools and early college requires approximately 4500 snacks per month. We have an active “Shop Now" button on our Facebook Page where items purchased through Amazon can be sent directly to us for distribution. This allows friends and families all over the country to help us feed these hungry students.

With our 501(c)(3), we feel confident that with community support, we can fulfill our goal of boosting student brain power.