Every parent knows the exhaustion of constantly having to decide what’s for dinner. Busy schedules and picky eaters make dinner planning a daily battle. For families navigating the halls of Texas Children’s Cancer Center, that question carries even heavier weight, layered with the uncertainty of pediatric cancer and financial stress.

Enter Sunday Supper, an initiative by Sky High for Kids, the local nonprofit that provides research funding and services for children facing pediatric cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Since its launch in fall 2024, Sky High has partnered with Houston restaurants to provide more than 7,000 meals.

“At Sky High for Kids, our mission is simple yet powerful: to provide comfort, fund research, and save the lives of children with cancer and other life-threatening conditions,” founder and CEO Brittany Franklin says. “This program is an extension of that mission. It gives kids and their families comfort in the middle of some of their hardest days.”

The idea sparked when Franklin shared a meal at the hospital with Mila, a 9-year-old leukemia patient, and her mom. She noticed that families often relied on costly delivery apps, such as Uber Eats, for comfort food, an expense many can’t sustain.

“In the hospital, I noticed the same thing: Sundays were the night most families were actually together. Parents weren’t working, siblings weren’t off at games, and for a brief window, everyone was in the same place,” Franklin says. “I wanted to give them that same sense of connection. A warm meal, a little normalcy, and time around the table with the people they love.”

As of now, 24 Houston restaurants have created 166 meals each for Sunday Supper, with halal and vegetarian options always included.

At Craft Pita, co-owner and chef Raffi Nasr prepared boxes filled with pita sandwiches, hummus, pita chips, and Lebanese snickerdoodle cookies after learning about Sunday Supper from Truth BBQ’s Leonard Botello IV and Abbie Byrom-Botello.

“What really shocked me was the amount of financial insecurity these families face,” Nasr says. “Many have had to quit their jobs to stay near the Medical Center or move from small towns. Food has the power to be medicine — not just physically, but mentally. Offering a Mediterranean diet provides the nutrients they need, while giving them variety and a small moment of happiness.”

Local Foods also joined in, contributing sandwiches, grilled chicken, and chocolate chip cookies.

“Making people happy through our work in the hospitality industry is one of my greatest joys,” says Local Foods Group owner Benjy Levit. “Sky High for Kids brings smiles to kids at Texas Children’s Hospital in the form of meals, so it was an easy decision for Local Foods to contribute.”

Looking ahead, Franklin hopes to grow Sunday Supper by partnering with more Houston restaurants, such as Landry’s and Levi Goode’s eateries, and eventually expand the program to other hospitals.

“There are more restaurants here than you could ever eat at in a lifetime, but only 52 Sundays in a year,” she says. “That’s why we ask our community to step up and help us make every one of those Sundays matter.”

“That moment where you enjoy a meal and forget about all that is going on in their lives is so valuable,” Nasr adds. “If we can be a part of that, it is our honor.”

Houston restaurants that have participated:

  • Anna B’s Pasta Sauce
  • Belong Kitchen
  • Craft Pita
  • Carrabba’s
  • Dish Society
  • Del Vista Bar and Grill
  • Ginn’s Gourmet Catering
  • Eunice
  • Federal American Grill
  • Hungry’s
  • Houston Catering Concepts
  • Kriti Kitchen
  • Local Foods
  • Nando’s
  • Red River BBQ
  • Saigon Hustle
  • Spanish Flower
  • Sunday Press
  • Tejas Chocolate + Barbeque
  • Traveler’s Cart
  • Truth BBQ
  • Trill Burgers
  • Winnie’s
  • Zanti