The following is a message from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint:
Due to economic hardship, over 5,400 children in the greater Flint area receive free or reduced price school breakfasts and/or lunches through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. What happens to those children when school is not in session?
The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint will distribute an estimated 13,000 meals and healthy snacks to the city’s youth this summer.
Said Jamie Gaskin, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club, “In partnership with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, we host a Summer Food Service Program site. And although the SFSP is the single largest form of Federal resources available for organizations combining a feeding program with summer activities, it just isn’t enough.” Because the program can’t provide breakfast, lunch, and a snack, the B&G Club turned to the Walmart Foundation to help provide breakfast to hungry children in our community. ”Wal-Mart rose to the challenge,” stated Gaskin, “They will provide $3,000 in funding for this summer.”
“The meals are integral part of the services provided by the Boys & Girls Club,” stated Gaskin, “and we’re proud to play a role in meeting this critical need.”
Through the Boys and Girls Club, the Summer Food Service Program provides meals to all children without charge. There will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. The Boys and Girls Club, located at 3701 N. Averill Avenue, will serve lunch from 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM and snacks from 3:00 PM– 3:15 PM-- Monday through Friday.
The collaboration between the Walmart Foundation and BGCA, is an example of how private-public partnerships can help alleviate some of the nation’s pressing problems, by combining efforts from corporate, non-profit and governmental sectors to ensure that Americans have access to wholesome meals.
“We continue to see the impact that the economy is having on our neighbors – they are stretching their budgets and looking to us for help in our stores and through our giving,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “Hunger relief is a cause that enables our company’s strengths to work for the greater good. From supporting summer feeding programs to donating food, we’re committed to doing all we can to help end hunger for our nation’s children, parents, homeless and all who have found themselves in need.”
The Walmart Foundation is working with BGCA to provide wholesome meals and snacks to more than 93,000 children, who may have otherwise gone without food over the summer. Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Flint is one of 350 local Boys & Girls Clubs receiving assistance to aid the increasing number of Americans who lean on hunger relief organizations to provide for their families during difficult financial periods.
The funds provided by Walmart are part of its ongoing commitment to help people live better by fighting hunger and supporting U.S. food banks. With a new commitment to providing healthy, summer meals to children who receive free or reduced-price lunches during the school year, the Walmart Foundation is donating $7.8 million to expand its hunger relief efforts, of which BGCA is one of the beneficiaries.
For More information about the Summer Food Service sites in Genesee or Saginaw Counties, visit the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan’s website, fbem.org or call Shawn Flood at 810.239.4441.