Feeding the Houston Community and Beyond, One Meal at a Time

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Alex Cai. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Alex Cai, a sophomore at The Kinkaid School in Houston, has been a force for good since co-founding The Food Lounge in seventh grade. Over the past three years, this nonprofit has grown to 10 locations with over 500 members. Through his leadership, The Food Lounge has delivered 60,000 hot meals and distributed 350,000 supply boxes, reaching 380,000 people in need.

Alex’s volunteerism goes beyond logistics. Averaging 10 hours a month, he organizes Houston-area events, including fundraisers, food bank sessions and soup kitchen initiatives. So far, he’s spearheaded 40 events this year alone, working with local organizations like the Houston Food Bank and Loaves and Fishes. His hands-on leadership fosters teamwork and inspires peers to take action.

The Food Lounge has also had a broader impact, earning 60 student members the President’s Volunteer Service Award last year. Alex is focused on long-term goals: tackling Houston’s food deserts and expanding partnerships to fight food insecurity on a larger scale. Under Alex’s guidance, The Food Lounge is more than a nonprofit – it’s a growing movement of young changemakers committed to creating a more equitable, food-secure future.

Tell us about your volunteer role.

I’m the vice president for the headquarters and manage a lot of the website. Where I live, for the Houston chapter, I organize and attend events, do membership recruiting and chapter formations, where I look to expand our organization to more cities so we can have a wider impact across the country. We’d originally started the organization as two chapters, in Dallas and Houston, but we now have 10 chapters all over the country, including Oklahoma, New Jersey and more, where I’ve worked with other people interested in these issues and give them the opportunity to voice their concerns and make an impact on the community.

Why are you inspired to get started with this initiative?

When I was a kid in elementary school, I went to a refugee center in Italy, which was my first experience volunteering and my first exposure to some of these issues. I donated a few thousand dollars with my brother, which went toward helping refugees. I saw a lot of kids my age, which surprised me, how many my age were struggling with food insecurity. This experience inspired me to help others my age, as I’m fortunate enough and have the privilege of not having to deal with food insecurity. I wanted to use the resources I had to help those who do live with food insecurity. That’s been my goal from a young age.

For the past few years, I’ve really gotten to accomplish some of those things in our community and across the country. But we’re hoping to expand even further with our efforts. While most of this originated when I was a kid, my inspiration also grew during COVID when a lot of people were home. In the news, I could see that people who needed food couldn’t go out and get it, couldn’t leave their homes and prices were going up. So that drove me toward this cause even more. I felt like it was an opportunity to make a difference in my community.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

When I go out and volunteer at different food banks, donation centers and fundraisers, getting to see the smiles on people’s faces and hear their thanks is what keeps me going. It feels like I’ve actually made a difference in someone’s life. I really want to have a broader impact in our community, and it is rewarding when you’re able to see that tangible impact around you. The impact is one of the most rewarding things – seeing how much we can improve what’s around us, even as high schoolers.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I’ve learned not to take anything for granted and to be grateful for what I have. I didn’t grow up with food insecurity but many people in my community did. I want to stay grateful, and doing this work has really allowed me to get a different perspective on how other people live. Many of these individuals are very similar to me; they just don’t have the same access to food.

Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.

We do partnerships with local restaurants around Houston. We partner with them to get gift cards or hot meals, and we’re looking to expand that even more around Houston. We’re also hosting new events. In the past, we’ve raised money by selling cookbooks and we hope to expand that further as well. Beyond that, we recently had some events that aren’t necessarily food-related, like community concerts, events to raise awareness about breast cancer and more. Our organization is not just focused on food insecurity, but also responds to health issues, natural disasters like hurricanes and more.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

You never know when you can make someone’s day. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to make lasting change. It also helps give you a new perspective of what you enjoy. Whether it’s policy making, food insecurity, environmental issues, being able to volunteer with causes gives you a new perspective on what people go through. It also shows you what’s being done about the issues, what other cities are doing and what we can possibly do as a city to help.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

You can begin anywhere. Volunteer one time at a shelter or food bank and see how you like it. The hardest part is getting into it, so try different things and see what you enjoy. Finding ways to volunteer in the areas you’re passionate about matters. Whatever issue you’re fighting for, no matter whether you think you’re making an impact, know that you are directly benefitting people, animals, the environment or whatever the cause area is.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

Food insecurity is one of the largest issues our community faces, especially with rising climate change and more droughts. Around 16% of people in Houston are food insecure. There are food deserts across this area. And every year in the U.S., we waste over 1 billion pounds of food. I really believe that everyone can play a part in coming together, reducing waste, donating food or time through volunteering and helping our communities.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Alex? Find local volunteer opportunities.