The Y Fights Child Hunger This Summer with Help from the Walmart Foundation
July 13, 2011
Y of Metro Chicago joins national effort to provide 7 million meals to children this summer
CHICAGO, IL – When the school year ends, so do free meals for the millions of children in low-income households who depend on them most. Through a $127,500 grant from YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) and the Walmart Foundation in collaboration with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Catholic Charities and Chicago Public Schools, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago will be able to provide nutritious meals and snacks to over 2,000 youth each day at 17 locations citywide this summer. The national Summer Food Service Program, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides free meals to children aged 18 and under while school is out of session. Nationally, more than 300 Ys will provide 7 million meals to 70,000 children this summer.
According to the USDA, 19.5 million low-income children receive free or reduced-cost meals during the school year. The Illinois School Board of Education reports that approximately 82 percent of children in Chicago were eligible for free/reduced lunches last year. As part of the Y of Metro Chicago’s summer food program, not only will thousands of children get nutrition they need for good health, but the program will also help alleviate the strain on family food budgets.
“Millions of children and families are at greater risk for hunger in the summer months when many school programs have ended,” says Richard Malone, President/CEO, YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. “It's pretty hard for kids to learn anything, or even to have fun, on an empty stomach. We are deeply grateful to Walmart for helping us advance our mission of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility through their generous grant.”
The Y of Metro Chicago’s summer food program received funding as part of Walmart’s Summer Giving Campaign – a broad $25 million initiative aimed at filling the gaps created when schools close this summer. The initiative will help expand nutrition, learning and employment services to more than 110,000 U.S. middle and high school students throughout the summer months. Walmart contributed a $3 million grant to Y-USA to address child hunger.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago’s Healthy Kids Day Camp is reaching out to kids at risk of food instability by providing a host of activities to help children lead healthier lives, such as participating in nutrition lessons, learning how to prepare healthy snacks, and engaging in a variety of games, activities and sports.
Help the Y Raise Awareness
The need to provide healthy meals to children over the summer is critical, as more families struggle with the issue of hunger. To help generate awareness, supporters are invited to tweet about the Y’s hunger efforts with the hashtag #YFightHunger on Twitter (e.g., “the Y is feeding 70,000 kids this summer. #YFightHunger). The Y’s goal is to collect 70,000 “tweets” to represent each of the 70,000 children that the Y will feed this summer. This live Twitter feed will appear on a webpage on the Y’s national website, www.ymca.net.
To learn more about the Y of Metro Chicago’s summer food program, visit www.ymca.net/summer-food-program or www.ymcachicago.org.
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About the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: The Y is Chicagoland’s leading nonprofit strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Through its 65 locations and more than 100 extension sites, the Y of Metro Chicago helps children learn and grow, teaches young people to lead, brings families closer, and encourages individual health and wellbeing. As one of the largest and oldest/most established cause-driven organizations/nonprofits in Chicago, YMCA programs impact hundreds of thousands of lives annually, helping to strengthen neighborhoods and respond to unique community needs across Chicagoland. To learn more, visit www.ymcachicago.org.
About Philanthropy at Walmart: Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better around the globe. In May 2010, Walmart and its Foundation made a historic pledge of $2 billion through 2015 to fight hunger in the U.S. The Walmart Foundation also supports education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness initiatives. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.
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