Less attend food program
This year's summer food program, offering free lunches for children who qualify for free or reduced lunches during the school year, has seen a slight decrease in attendance and is anticipating a loss this year.
Bill Halle, with the Grace Youth and Family Foundation in Butler, sponsors the program, which serves free lunch to any 5- to 18-year-old child in the county at three sites: Rotary Park, Father Marinaro Park and the YMCA. Dinner is served at the Institute Hill Playground.
Last year, the Butler program served 5,500 meals and 990 snacks to 300 to 370 children, Halle said. But this year, Halle said the numbers are a little lower.
At the halfway point of this summer's program, the staff has served 1,279 meals and 703 snacks, Halle said. Those meals have been given to about 180 different children since the start of the program on June 20.
But this year's program has a few changes that could account for the lower numbers, Halle said.
“The difference would be that last year, we had two different locations that operated all summer long, at the Net Outreach and Old Plank Estates,” he said. “In addition, the program was three weeks longer last year.”
He said that Tuesdays and Thursdays are popular days for children to show up, which Halle said could have to do with different child care or work schedules for families.
The program is reimbursed partially by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, but despite that and some funding from the city, the program will likely be a loss this year.
“The goal is to break even at the end of the year,” Halle said. “You start the year providing what you think you're going to have ... that's the struggle financially for the program: making sure that you have enough food for the kids who are there and not so much that you're losing money financially.”
While each year's goal is to break even, the program typically sees a loss, Halle said.
“Our goal is try to keep the loss below $2,500 to $3,000. If we can keep it down to that amount, then that would be our target for the program this year.”
Even though the numbers are down slightly this year, the program is important for a number of families.
“It's something that is still a significant need, as well as the parents seem to appreciate having it available,” Halle said.
In Butler County, 26 percent of school-age children are eligible for a free or reduced lunch, about 7,000 children in total, according to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
