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YMCA of Greater Flint Offers Summer Food Program

YMCA of Greater Flint Offers Summer Food Program to Help Kids Get Their ‘Fill of Fun’

 

YMCA of Greater Flint joins national effort to serve 5 million meals to 150,000 kids and teens, in partnership with the Walmart Foundation

 

In an effort to combat child hunger, YMCA of Greater Flint will offer its free Summer Food Program, thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. Combining food and fun, the program provides nutritious meals and snacks and fun learning enrichment activities to keep youth healthy, active and well-nourished all summer long. The program runs year-round and is open to kids ages 18 and under.  

Research shows that more than 30 million children in low-income communities receive free or reduced-cost meals during the school year, but only 2.3 million of these same kids have access to free meals when school is out. To help fill summertime gap and ensure fewer children go hungry, the YMCA of Greater Flint will feed over 200 students here in Flint. At more than 1,100 summer food program sites nationwide, the Y will strive to serve 5 million healthy meals and snacks to 150,000 kids this summer.

            “At the Y, we are focused on keeping kids mentally and physically active while ensuring they have access to healthy food so they’re well-nourished and avoid the ‘summer slide’,” said Shelly MacArthur, Program Director, YMCA of Greater Flint. “The YMCA’s Summer Food Program will help kids stay healthy, active and energized all summer long, ensuring they start the school year ready to achieve.”

            Y Safe Places offers free, safe after-school programming for students in grades 1st – 12th grades. Participants in the Y Safe Places program will participate in the Summer Food Program and will receive a meal and snack daily and enjoy various fun activities. Activities include field trips, service learning, and weekly trips to swim at the Y. Registrations accepted at the site locations or at the Downtown YMCA. Call Shelly at 810.232.9622 with questions.

            The Y is committed to nurturing the physical, mental and social-emotional development of youth and is working to ensure that all kids have access to nutritious meals, so they can continue to be healthy and thrive when out of school. The YMCA’s Summer Food Program, now in its fourth year, is part of a year-round effort to fight child hunger in partnership with the Walmart Foundation. In 2013, the Y provided a total of 7.5 million meals to children across the country through Afterschool and Summer Food Programs.

            During the school year, YMCA of Greater Flint will also serve healthy meals and snacks in its Y Safe Places afterschool program to provide kids with nourishment and academic enrichment.

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