Summer break is usually a time for students to relax, go on adventures and spend time with their loved ones. However, for some students, summer is a time when they go without support from their school district for an extended period. In Prosper, Texas, they don’t have to suffer alone. There are many support systems in place to help these students and their families put food on their tables and prepare them to go back to school. Among the many Prosper-based organizations that give this kind of assistance is the Prosper Ladies Association.
“Our mission is to help the families and children of Prosper ISD,” Vice President Kristi Izquierdo said. “We host our annual gala, which is (called) Boots & Bling, and we (sponsor) the Prosper Christmas Angels Program and the Summer Lunch Program (every year).”
Izquierdo is referring to the many ways in which the Prosper Ladies association connects with the local community. The Summer Lunch Program, which currently serves 119 families and 320 children, is the organization’s largest initiative.
“What we do is we feed the children who are on free and reduced lunch during the school year,” Izquierdo said. “We support those children by providing them with breakfast and lunch throughout the summer.”
The Prosper Ladies Association isn’t the only local organization tackling child hunger in the town. Along with having a similar mission, the Prosper/Celina branch of the LovePacs Food Pantry also works closely with the Ladies Association to supply food for the Summer Lunch Program.
“Our mission is to help feed the children in the (Prosper ISD) district on free and reduced lunches during the long holiday breaks from school where they might not have access to the food that they would get during the week when they are in school,” Darlene Morton, co-chair of the Prosper/Celina branch, said. “So, we provide two meals a day at least, and two snacks a day, along with some meals for the families to enjoy.
Since the branch’s founding in 2016, LovePacs food pantry has served approximately 500 to 600 Prosper residents every holiday, allowing its outreach to extend to tens of thousands of people in total.
“We started in the garage of someone’s house, and then four years ago, we were able to get this permanent place for love packs,” Morton said. “(That) has been awesome because we’re able to offer more items for our families and we’re also all able to work more with volunteers.”
For those in need living on the north side of Prosper, the Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors Food Pantry, a partner of the North Texas Food Bank, serves nonperishable food along with fresh produce and meat.
“There’s definitely seasonality,” Executive Director Robert Daleo said. “(In) the summertime when kids are home from school, we actually see more need because they’re not getting food at school. Right now, we’re (serving) about 200 to 250 (families) per week.”
Despite the positive impact that Prosper’s largest food pantry is making, Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors struggles to keep up with the high summer demand because of a fire they faced in January which rendered the main storage facility and the food stored in it unusable.
“Our suite had some damage,” Daleo said. “(There was) fire damage to the adjacent wall (and) a ton of smoke and water damage.”
However, the food pantry was able to start distributing food again a week later and Daleo attributed this achievement to Prosper’s immediate support.
“The fire chief had his crew positioned to not let the fire spread into our suite because he’s a huge supporter of the food pantry,” he said. “The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints came forward and sent a trailer of food from Salt Lake City and we set up shop in the parking lot of (Prosper Town Hall).”
With other local organizations mainly focusing on feeding children, the Prosper branch of the Cornerstone Assistance Network of North Central Texas offers temporary financial relief and assistance to those who are struggling. In the summer, the nonprofit focuses on taking the burden of school expenses off the backs of Prosper families.
“One of our main events is the Back-to-School Bash where we give kids the supplies that they need for school, and a new backpack and new sneakers,” Marketing and Social Media Media Manager Kat Rogers said. “We (also) do drives during Christmas (for) gift-type supplies.”
According to Rogers, the best part about her work is witnessing the positive influence that Cornerstone has on the families she helps.
“It could be (the) mom, dad and the kids, and they are really struggling,” she said. “And then just to see them be able to kind of dig their way out of the hole and then move forward is really rewarding.”
Regardless of their respective missions, all the Prosper nonprofits work together to provide a future for the local children and their families. One way they collaborate is through Prosper Blessings, which is a group of all nonprofit organizations in the town.
“If any of us have a need, we support each other,” Daleo said. “So, the nonprofit groups here in the town are very tight,”
He expressed a sentiment that most of the other volunteers working for these local organizations have shared.
“(My) favorite part (of working for the food pantry) is the lessons that I have personally learned about humility and gratitude,” he said. “I thought I knew what (its) true definition was, but I didn’t until coming here. And when you see somebody in need, and (their) desperation, especially on mothers with lots of kids (who) don’t know where they’re going to fill their pantry, and tell them that they’re going to have a full pantry once they leave here, it’s great to see that burden being lifted off of them.”
This story was originally published on Eagle Nation Online on August 26, 2025.