Public-Private Partnership Project to Address Children's Food Crisis During Summer Vacation Launches with Goal of "300,000 Meals"

Certified NPO Kidsdoor (Location: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Yumiko Watanabe, hereinafter "Kidsdoor") and NPO Kids Future Passport (Location: Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Representative Director: Mariko Nakamoto, hereinafter "KFP") are launching a public-private partnership project aiming to provide "300,000 meals" to address the issue of children's food insecurity during summer vacation. In preparation for this, a press conference was held on Monday, July 6th, at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare press conference room, in collaboration with supporting organizations and companies including the town of Sakai, Shimo-tsuga District, Tochigi Prefecture, Yoshinoya Co., Ltd., and the Japan Professional Footballers' Association.

From left: Mirei Atsumi (Family Support Program Manager, Certified NPO Kidsdoor), Yumiko Watanabe (Representative Director, Certified NPO Kidsdoor), Ryosuke Imai (Director/Chairman, NPO Kids Future Passport), Masahiro Hashimoto (Mayor, Town of Sakai, Shimo-tsuga District, Tochigi Prefecture), Eiji Okada (Senior Managing Executive Officer, Yoshinoya Co., Ltd.), Yosuke Goto (Senior Managing Director, Japan Professional Footballers' Association) at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare press conference room on Monday, July 6th. Yoshinoya (food service company) and the Japan Professional Footballers' Association (general corporate organization), who have already supported "Kodomo Gochimeshi," participated.

This project will establish a new food support model that delivers both "food ingredients" and "dining-out experiences" to children by combining Kidsdoor's existing food delivery support through "Kidsdoor Family Support" with KFP's dining-out and prepared meal support through "Kodomo Gochimeshi."

The project aims to provide a total of 300,000 meals starting from Wednesday, July 1, 2026, to Monday, August 31, 2026. Currently, approximately 20,000 meals are secured through Kidsdoor and 110,000 meals through "Kodomo Gochimeshi." We are seeking supporting companies and local governments to secure the remaining 170,000 meals. Support for KFP can be provided starting from 100,000 yen.

Background: Summer Vacation "Food Gap" and Soaring Prices

During summer vacation, the absence of school lunches creates a significant challenge for children from low-income and financially struggling households in securing daily meals. Furthermore, the prolonged period of rising prices has increased household food expenses, severely impacting children's nutritional status, physical and mental health, and the sense of security within families.

Additionally, a survey by Kidsdoor revealed that the frequency of dining out among supported households is extremely low, with only 1% using restaurants once a week or more, and over half dining out less than once every six months.

Moreover, the disparity in experiences among children due to their families' economic situations, a growing concern in recent years, extends to dining-out experiences, leading to psychological and social isolation and a loss of learning opportunities.

【Overview】New Model Combining Food Support with Dining-Out and Prepared Meal Experiences

This project aims to achieve more effective food support by combining Kidsdoor's traditional food delivery support to households through "Kidsdoor Family Support" with KFP's dining-out and prepared meal support utilizing local restaurants through "Kodomo Gochimeshi."

Through digital meal tickets funded by donations and local government support, children can dine at registered restaurants, which also contributes to the restaurants' sales.

Features

1 Support Extends to "Dining Experiences" Difficult to Reach with Food Delivery Alone

Kidsdoor's traditional food support primarily involved delivering rice, food items, and ingredients to households. However, challenges remain that cannot be fully addressed by food distribution alone, such as securing protein sources essential for growing children, reducing cooking burdens, providing opportunities for dining out at home, and fostering community connections.

This initiative goes beyond simple food distribution by combining food support delivered to homes with dining-out and prepared meal support utilizing local restaurants, aiming to reduce nutritional imbalances, eliminate solitary eating, create opportunities for family meals, and foster community interaction.

Furthermore, it contributes to resolving the "experience gap" caused by a lack of dining-out experience, which can lead to psychological isolation and loss of social opportunities. In particular, single-parent households often work long hours, and there are voices expressing difficulty in fostering parent-child conversations and interaction. Dining-out support will create opportunities for family interaction.

2 A Model That Measures Effectiveness, Not Just "Support and Done"

In conjunction with summer vacation food support, Kidsdoor and KFP plan to jointly design surveys and other methods to understand the voices of those receiving support. This initiative is significant as it aims to empirically verify children's food support and develop more effective policy and business models, rather than being a one-off act of goodwill or a temporary campaign. Specifically, the following will be visualized to improve and expand future support models:

Changes in dietary habits

Improvement in experiential value

Reduction in household burden

3 An Implementable Model Through Public-Private Collaboration Among Local Governments, NPOs, and Corporations

As exemplified by the town of Sakai, Shimo-tsuga District, Tochigi Prefecture, which is actively involved in support using "Kodomo Gochimeshi (including the platform)," and supporting companies and organizations such as Yoshinoya and the Japan Professional Footballers' Association, who participated in the press conference:

NPOs (Support Network)

Local Governments (Local Implementation)

Corporations/Organizations (Funding/Restaurant Network)

By collaborating, we will build a sustainable and scalable model.

We aim to connect children's food support not only to welfare measures but also to the revitalization of the local economy and community.

About "Kodomo Gochimeshi"

"Kodomo Gochimeshi" is a system that delivers meals to children in need by enabling local restaurants to function as "children's cafeterias." Since its launch, it has been promoting the "DX of Children's Cafeterias" utilizing IT and digital tickets, aiming for a sustainable form of support. It resolves issues faced by traditional volunteer-based children's cafeterias, such as "labor shortages," "irregular operations," and "funding difficulties," while building a win-win-win model that benefits all three parties: local restaurants, children, and supporters.

KFP is committed to creating opportunities for children to gain rich experiences, not just food support. We aim to realize a society where all children can equally enjoy both meals and experiences.

https://kodomo-gochimeshi.org/

About NPO Kids Future Passport

This is an NPO established for child support activities. It operates "Kodomo Gochimeshi" with the aim of creating a sustainable system that supports the healthy growth of all children. Donations and support funds from corporations and individuals are used as a foundation to provide meals to children at registered local restaurants.

"Kodomo Gochimeshi" utilizes the GOCHI platform owned by Gigi Inc.

Location: Chiyo 1-20-31, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka Chiyo Godo Chosha 6F, Office 4

Establishment Date: June 2, 2023

Representative Director: Mariko Nakamoto

Business Activities: Local Child Support Program "Kodomo Gochimeshi"

Homepage: https://kids-future-passport.org/

- Registered Children: 113,363 (Cumulative: 126,896)

- Meals Supported: 346,265

(As of the end of June 2026)

About Kidsdoor Family Support

Kidsdoor Family Support is a support platform based on a registered database to ensure that families raising children facing economic difficulties can connect with necessary support without becoming isolated. Registered families receive continuous support in four areas: information support, experiential activity support, and employment support, in addition to material support such as free provision of daily necessities like food, school supplies, clothing, PCs, and Christmas presents.

https://kidsdoor-family-support.jp/

Current Situation and Achievements of Families Requiring Support (FY2025)

Of the families registered in FY2025, approximately 92.3% were single-parent households, with many in non-regular employment such as part-time jobs, and about 60% had a household annual income of 2 million yen or less, indicating a difficult living situation. Many households have little to no savings, and unexpected expenses or the burden of food costs during long vacations significantly impact their daily lives.

- Registered Households: 5,105 households (Average 3.1 people per household)

- Material Support: 35 times, a total of 10,975 households

About Certified NPO Kidsdoor

Since its establishment in 2009, Kidsdoor has been working to solve the problem of child poverty in Japan. They operate "place-based learning centers" in Tokyo and its suburbs, Miyagi, and Kobe, offering free study sessions and living support, including meals, for elementary to high school students and young people who have dropped out of high school from impoverished households. Since 2020, when families raising children facing hardship surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they created the "Family Support" system, providing information support, food and stationery support, and employment support for parents to registered families nationwide.

Representative Director Yumiko Watanabe also serves as a government committee member, including a member of the Subcommittee on Poverty Countermeasures and Single-Parent Household Support of the Child and Family Council, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and a member of the Social Security Council and the Committee on Self-Reliance Support for Persons Living in Poverty and Livelihood Protection.

Certified NPO Kidsdoor

Location: Prime Urban Shinkawa 2F, 2-16-10 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0033

URL: https://kidsdoor.net/