In the United States, many low income   parents cannot afford to buy enough food for their children. A program called Kids Cafe is helping some of these children by providing free nutritious   snacks and meals during after-school programs. At a community   center in Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C., children make a snack as part of their afterschool program. "The snack is very healthy for your body, but the main thing is that it tastes really, really good," Keith Clements tells them. He runs the Kids Cafe program. The children are between the ages of 5 and 11 and are from several local schools. About half have parents from Ethiopia. Many of the children eat their traditional food at home. Kids Cafe, with food offered free by a food bank, gives them an opportunity to try different types of food. "It's good," says one girl. But Rebecca Nance, whose parents are from the US, is not so sure. "The taste is weird." Her mother, Daffany Nance has two children in the program. She's glad her kids are getting nutritious food. "Even in my house we don't have much junk food," she says, "so it's very important that it's healthy and continues to help them grow better." The charity  , Feeding America, started the national Kids Cafe program in 1993. The charity says more than 16 million children in the United States do not have enough healthy food to eat. Kids Cafe became part of the afterschool program at this community center five years ago. Lori McFail heads the afterschool program. She says some children do not eat good evening meals because their parents work late or cannot afford healthy food. She hopes the children will make full use of what they've learned about nutrition in their lives. What is the purpose of starting Kids Cafe?
To provide poor children with nutritious food. To raise money for some poor children. To develop the afterschool program. To help poor children learn new skills.