RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Kitty Perez worked as a teacher for many years and saw how many children struggled with food insecurity.

Now, in retirement, Perez says she wanted to give back in a new way through her nonprofit organization Feed Rio Rancho Kids.

Once a month, you can find Kitty Perez and her army of volunteers at the Unitarian Universalist Westside Church. 

“Pretty much anything that you could imagine a student would be lacking, they have found a way to make It happen for our kids,” said Jarmaine McChriston, a Rio Rancho Public Schools social worker. 

Packing lunches for Rio Rancho Public School children in need.

Perez co-founded Feed Rio Rancho Kids in 2019 and has been providing hundreds of meals for children since.

“We feel like no child in Rio Rancho should go to bed hungry. We realize and finally our state is providing breakfast and lunch for all public-school kids, but many of them go home to empty pantries,” said Perez. 

After the bags are assembled and ready for distribution, Jarmaine McChriston comes in and makes sure they make it into the hands of RRPS children.

“Having food at home is one of the basic needs that these kids desperately need sometimes. Being able to provide that just makes life a little simpler for the parents and a little simpler for the kids to excel in school,” said McChriston.  

A social worker within the district, McChriston says he knows first hand how much food, or a lack of food, can affect students. 

“They aren’t getting themselves in trouble, they’re having more fun in school. I mean, all of these things can be tracked using data and the data shows that our kids are doing much better now that we are able to give them the substance that they need in order to just be kids,” McChriston said.  

Right now, Feed Rio Rancho Kids serves six campuses and is one of a few programs that makes sure students aren’t skipping meals.

“Our district does a great job of allowing us to bring in these resources and our community has done a great job of coming together, especially with Feed Rio Rancho Kids, to help us out,” said McChriston. 

If you’re a Rio Rancho parent who needs more food support, the best thing to do is to contact their school counselor. All social workers within the district meet as a group once a month to talk about resources and make sure children are taken care of.