Lunch can be one of the most difficult times of day for children from a low-income family, especially if their parents could not afford to buy enough food.

Some of those children may not eat while at school, affecting learning and socialization skills. Others may eat during the week and go hungry on the weekends.

When the Scarpinato family wanted to teach their daughter, Taylor, the benefits of volunteering, they had trouble finding an organization that would allow her to work since she was under 16. Rather than continuing to search, the Scarpinatos decided to found their own charity to help hungry children in schools.

Kitchen on the Street now feeds 1,500 children weekly and has hundreds more on the wait list. The group also maintains pantries at schools where low-income parents can volunteer in exchange for food.

In 2011, Kitchen on the Street received a food truck from the Arizona Diamondbacks to raise awareness of childhood hunger, provide food preparation training and raise funds to eliminate hunger.