A Birmingham nonprofit is launching a program aimed at combatting food insecurity among low- to moderate-income residents.

The Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation will kick-off the new approach, called Daniel’s Meal Subscription Service, with an event April 5, 2025.

The program targets a known need – food insecurity, defined as “the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways,” as noted on the United States Department of Agriculture website.

According to FeedingAmerica.org, 1 in six people in Alabama are facing hunger.

The program will select 100 families through a lottery system. The families selected will receive 32 to 36 free, freshly prepared meals per week, for a full year. The foundation, a charitable organization of the African Methodist Episcopal church, makes the lottery open to anyone living within the footprint of AME District 9, which covers the state of Alabama, according to the foundation website.

There is no cost to apply to this program, but the families chosen will have to pay a $50 activation fee. They will need to pick up the meals from the Daniel Payne Village Plaza weekly. To apply you must enter the online lottery by April 2, 2025, or sign up in person at the launch event April 5.

Low Income Relief, a site connecting individuals and families in crisis, described The Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation as a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through education, economic development, and wellness. The foundation said that the meal service was made possible by a $255,000 grant from the city of Birmingham.

Visit DanielPayne.org for more details on foundation programs.