Program supplies meal, activities
Numerous locations in Butler County are giving back to local youth.
For some organizations, it's the first year participating in the Summer Food & Fun free meal program, which is sponsored by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. For others, it's one more year participating in the program.
The program offers a free lunch to children under 18. The program, which is federally-funded, will provide more than 6,000 meals during the summer, according to the food bank.
There is no registration required, and meal times vary at the different locations.
In Butler County, participating organizations include the Butler County Family YMCA, Butler County Children's Center and the Butler Public Library. There are also various parks/residences taking part in the initiative, including Madison Grove Apartments, Rotary Park, Slippery Rock Park, Brady Hills, Father Marinaro Park and Institute Hill Playground.
“We know summer can be tough for the hundreds of thousands of families with children across the region who rely on school meals,” Lisa Scales, president and CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, said in a news release. “The Summer Food Program is a vital resource for these families to stretch their budgets a little further while ensuring their children have the proper nutrition they need to grow and thrive during the summer.”
The 6,000 meals served last year was up 4 percent from 2016, according to Tabbi Reefer, child nutrition outreach coordinator for the food bank. She referred to the program as an “extension” of regular school meal programs.
“Parents face providing these meals each week during the summer that the schools or child care facilities normally take on,” Reefer said. “The program wants to bridge that gap so children can receive nutritious meals.”
Reefer said that according to end-of-the-year reports provided to the food bank, 14.4 percent of families in Butler County are food insecure. That's slightly higher than the 12.5 percent statewide average, according to 2016 data from Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization.
“Food insecurity is whenever families, people, children don't have enough access to enough food to lead a healthy, active lifestyle,” Reefer explained. “They're not getting a whole-balanced diet.”
Reefer said the program is also aimed at helping kids' social development.
“It's good for kids' social skills, being able to interact with other kids during the summer,” Reefer said. “It's a good way to meet new friends and be with older friends. Most of the sites provide some kind of activity, so they get a little bit of enrichment as well. It's something fun to do during the summer.”
Butler County Children's Center revived the program after a five-year hiatus. Beth Glew, interim CEO and health nutrition disabilities director, said the summer program is an extension of the Child in Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) that runs during the school year.
Glew said that the food bank has been “absolutely wonderful” in helping the program gain traction. The Pittsburgh branch assisted the center with paperwork, monetary assistance and marketing services.
“They had great ideas for funding and marketing,” Glew said. “One of their workers, Katie Dougherty, suggested attaching fliers to boxes of macaroni and cheese to distribute in the neighborhood, to get attention. They donated 100 boxes of macaroni and cheese.”
The food bank also provided hula hoops and other forms of equipment for activities.
“Sharing their expertise got this off the ground,” Glew said. “Sometimes it takes a little while to build up and get children participating, but they assured us that our slow start was typical.”
Glew noted that her organization at 805 W. New Castle St. in Butler's West End district provides meals to four or five kids a day. However, Glew and her fellow volunteers want to grow the program to serve as many as 20 kids.“We sent our Head Start families texts and emails, reminding them that the program is there with no cost,” Glew said. “There are plenty of opportunities for kids in our area, with the YMCA and the library serving lunches. I think between all the sites, we're managing to impact a lot of families in the area.”Glew said she's proud of the organization for getting involved with the program. Butler County Children's Center hosts lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, through Aug. 23.“I think it's a wonderful opportunity for families and we were really excited to start this,” Glew said. “When children aren't in school session, we want to make sure they were receiving at least one nutritious meal a day. It can be hard for families, so we wanted to help and assist in one way to make sure the children are being fed.”Marena Toth of the Butler YMCA agreed.“I think the program has been an amazing outlet for these children to have some sort of stability,” Toth said. “We have the ability to play games and ... We teach them team-building. They have more structure than they would just going by themselves to the park.”Toth said she has a core of 10 kids regularly attending. At the YMCA building in Butler, between 10 and 14 kids routinely show up.This is the second year the YMCA has participated in the program.To advertise to local Butler students, Natalie Sferra, senior child care director, said that every student in Butler School District went home with a flier, created by the food bank.“That really got the word out,” Sferra said.Toth has seen children grow through the program. For her, it's not just about healthy meals but friendship and community too.“I see kids grow over their insecurities and make friends,” Toth said. “I've seen the older kids be nurturing to the younger kids. When it comes to the games, it's more about learning than it is about winning.”In northern Butler County, Madison Grove Apartments, 331 Grove City Road, Slippery Rock, hosts lunch noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday. There is no end-date listed.Victoria Crawford, community manager, said that between 10 to 20 kids routinely show up for lunch. There, the program has entered its fourth year.“I think it's a fantastic program,” Crawford said. “The people from our local food bank will give the extra food they have for the day to the kids that need it, so they have some food to eat later. They're very nice and they do a great job caring for the children in the neighborhood.”Crawford said that two volunteers from the food bank spearhead the lunch and activities. Crawford's job is to pass out fliers and make sure young residents are aware meals are available.Butler County's program is sponsored by the Grace Youth and Family Foundation, which was started by Bill Halle in January 1993. The group has been a Butler County sponsor since 2012.For more information on the Summer Food & Fun program, visit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank's website: www.pittsburghfoodbank.org.
