HOUSTON (KIAH) — Eating a balanced meal throughout your day can have a positive impact on how you perform. Our kids are are the same way when it comes to how they perform in school.

This week is National School Lunch Week and food banks, advocates and school districts across the country are celebrating raising awareness of the importance of healthy school meals. Thanks to recent policy changes, there’s now more access to free and reduced meals for children in need.

Many students depend on meals from school to eat during their day especially if their parent can’t afford balanced nutritious meals. No Kid Hungry Texas is an organization that works to ensure all children have access to federal nutrition programs in their community. Based on data, No Kid Hungry states that 1 in 8 kids are living in hunger here in the United States.

Here’s what you can do to apply for free/reduced meals for your child:

• Contact your child’s front office attendant or counselor
• Fill out a free/reduced lunch application

You can find out more about options available to you at NoKidHungry.org/Texas.