YMCA Summer Food Program

 

 

Valley of the Sun YMCA serves 50,000 nutritious meals and snacks

throughout summer school break.

 

The YMCA extended its free Summer Food Program to more than twice as many locations this summer. Across the country, the program is available in more than 1,100 locations. The program is open to youth and teens ages 18 and under.

Valley YMCA branches serving meals and snacks include Maryvale, Chris-Town, Tempe, Chandler, Glendale, Northwest Valley (El Mirage), East Valley (Mesa), Copper Basin (San Tan ValleyI, Yuma and Flagstaff.

Made possible through a $5.3 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, the Y Summer Food Program serves 5 million nutritious meals and snacks along with fun learning activities to 200,000 kids and teens across the country. The Valley of the Sun YMCA serves 50,000 meals and snacks here in Arizona.

During the school year, more than 16.9 million children receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Only 2.3 million, or about 12 percent, of these young people have access to free meals over the summer break.

To help children in Arizona avoid this summertime gap, Summer Food Program participants receive meals and snacks and enjoy various fun activities.

In Arizona, the Valley of the Sun YMCA served 46,000 meals to 3,000 kids and teens in 2014. This year marks the program’s fifth year and the Y’s ongoing commitment to helping kids bridge the gap by nurturing the physical, mental and social-emotional development of youth. During the school year, Valley of the Sun YMCA will also serve healthy meals and snacks in its after-school program to provide kids with nourishment and academic enrichment.

 

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