YWCA hosting Summer Food Program

YWCA of Van Wert County news

The YWCA of Van Wert County announces its 18th year of sponsorship of the free Summer Food Program for local youths.

During the school year, many children receive free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs. However, during summer vacation, children may not have the same access to nutritious meals. The goal of the Summer Food Program is to fill that nutritional gap and make sure children can get the nutritious meals they need.

The program aims to fill the participants’ time with positive activities, including field trips, volunteer opportunities, interactions with a variety of speakers and presentations, and create mentoring relationships to encourage constructive decision-making. All activities are well supervised by qualified mentors, supervisors, and lifeguards.

Free, nutritious meals and recreational programs will be made available to children 4-15 years of age.  Free meals are available to any child ages 4-18 years old. All 4 year-olds must be potty-trained to participate in the recreation program. The meals will be provided without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

Breakfast is served from 7:45-9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.  The program will begin June 17 and tentatively run until August 16.  Children may be dropped off no earlier than 7:45 A.M. and picked up no later than 1 p.m.

Registration forms are available at the front desk of the YWCA and through the YWCA of Van Wert County’s website at www.ywca.org/vanwertcounty.

Last year the YWCA served over 20,000 meals through the Summer Food Program. The State of Ohio Child Nutrition Services and the United Way of Van Wert County are the sponsors of this program.

The YWCA is a United Way and Van Wert County Foundation funded agency. For more information contact Program Director Danni Chiles at 419.238.6639.