Growing Hope One Weekend at a Time: How Our Weekend Food Program Is Expanding Its Impact
Every child deserves to return to school on Monday nourished, healthy, and ready to learn. Unfortunately, for many students, weekends can mean uncertainty about where their next meal will come from.
At Hospitality House, we’re working to change that.
Thanks to the generous support of Impact100 Oakland County and our community partners, the Weekend Food Program continues to grow, providing nutritious meals to hundreds of local students while expanding into more schools than ever before.
A Year of Growth
The 2025–2026 school year marked an exciting period of expansion for the Weekend Food Program.
Within the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, the program grew from serving nine schools to fourteen schools. Looking ahead, we’re even closer to our goal of reaching every school in the district. Two additional schools have already committed to joining for the 2026–2027 school year, another has requested a planning meeting before classes begin, and we’re continuing to build relationships with the final remaining school.
Our impact expanded even further when we launched the Weekend Food Program throughout the Novi Community School District, making weekend meals available in all eight elementary, middle, and high schools.
More Than Numbers—It’s About Families
During the 2025–2026 school year, Hospitality House provided weekly meal bags to 386 students, distributing:
- 9,187 weekend meal bags
- 55,122 meals
- 36,748 snacks
Behind every meal bag is a child who doesn’t have to worry about going hungry over the weekend—and a family that can breathe a little easier.
One parent shared:
“The Weekend Food Program has been a vital source of stability for my family. Knowing that we have consistent access to nutritious food over the weekends relieves a significant amount of financial pressure.”
Another wrote:
“It has been great for me as a single mom to have food available in my pantry to make for my children. The food is easy to make and I know my family will have a filling meal and also afternoon snack.”
These stories remind us that the program does far more than provide food—it provides peace of mind.
Making Every Meal Healthier
Listening to families has become one of our greatest strengths.
This year, feedback from parents and guardians inspired us to add more protein-rich foods to our meal bags. One of our newest additions—protein shakes—has quickly become a favorite among students and families.
We’re also continuing to provide fresh fruit every week, with apples and mandarins now a regular part of every meal bag. These improvements help ensure students receive nutritious, balanced food that supports both their health and academic success.
Building Stronger Community Connections
Our work doesn’t stop at food distribution.
Throughout the year, our Program Coordinator met individually with every participating school to gather feedback, strengthen partnerships, and identify opportunities for improvement. We also surveyed parents, guardians, counselors, social workers, and school administrators each semester to better understand how the program can continue to evolve.
These conversations have produced another unexpected benefit.
Families completing our surveys can request information about Hospitality House’s client-choice food pantry, allowing the Weekend Food Program to become a gateway to additional resources for households experiencing food insecurity.
Volunteers Make It Possible
Community support continues to be the heart of the Weekend Food Program.
This year, nine new volunteers joined our team to help pack and deliver weekly meal bags. Their dedication ensures that thousands of meals reach students efficiently while keeping program costs low.
Every volunteer, donor, and community partner plays an important role in helping children start each new week with the nourishment they need.
Looking Ahead
While we’ve celebrated significant milestones, we’re not finished.
We’re continuing to explore new food suppliers that can provide an even greater variety of nutritious, shelf-stable meals and snacks. We’re also working to increase participation from families in our feedback surveys so we can better understand their needs and continue improving the program.
With continued support from Impact100 Oakland County, individual donors, grant partners, and our community, we’re confident the Weekend Food Program will continue to grow and reach even more children in the years ahead.
Together, we’re doing more than providing food—we’re reducing weekend hunger, strengthening families, and helping students arrive at school ready to learn, grow, and succeed.