{"id":184955,"date":"2025-08-29T15:58:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T15:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/184955\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T15:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T15:58:17","slug":"houston-nonprofit-recruits-top-local-restaurants-to-feed-kids-with-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/184955\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston nonprofit recruits top local restaurants to feed kids with cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every parent knows the exhaustion of constantly having to decide what\u2019s for dinner. Busy schedules and picky eaters make dinner planning a daily battle. For families navigating the halls of Texas Children\u2019s Cancer Center<\/a>, that question carries even heavier weight, layered with the uncertainty of pediatric cancer and financial stress.<\/p>\n

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

Since its launch in fall 2024, Sky High has partnered with Houston restaurants to provide more than 7,000 meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Sky High for Kids<\/a>, our mission is simple yet powerful: to provide comfort, fund research, and save the lives of children with cancer and other life-threatening conditions,\u201d founder and CEO Brittany Franklin says. \u201cThis program is an extension of that mission. It gives kids and their families comfort in the middle of some of their hardest days.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t sustain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the hospital, I noticed the same thing: Sundays were the night most families were actually together. Parents weren\u2019t working, siblings weren\u2019t off at games, and for a brief window, everyone was in the same place,\u201d Franklin says. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of now, 24 Houston restaurants have created 166 meals each for Sunday Supper, with halal and vegetarian options always included.<\/p>\n

At Craft Pita<\/a>, 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\u2019s<\/a> Leonard Botello IV and Abbie Byrom-Botello.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really shocked me was the amount of financial insecurity these families face,\u201d Nasr says. \u201cMany have had to quit their jobs to stay near the Medical Center or move from small towns. Food has the power to be medicine \u2014 not just physically, but mentally. Offering a Mediterranean diet provides the nutrients they need, while giving them variety and a small moment of happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local Foods<\/a> also joined in, contributing sandwiches, grilled chicken, and chocolate chip cookies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking people happy through our work in the hospitality industry is one of my greatest joys,\u201d says Local Foods Group owner Benjy Levit<\/a>. \u201cSky High for Kids brings smiles to kids at Texas Children\u2019s Hospital in the form of meals, so it was an easy decision for Local Foods to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Franklin hopes to grow Sunday Supper by partnering with more Houston restaurants, such as Landry\u2019s and Levi Goode\u2019s eateries, and eventually expand the program to other hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are more restaurants here than you could ever eat at in a lifetime, but only 52 Sundays in a year,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s why we ask our community to step up and help us make every one of those Sundays matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment where you enjoy a meal and forget about all that is going on in their lives is so valuable,\u201d Nasr adds. \u201cIf we can be a part of that, it is our honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston restaurants that have participated:<\/p>\n