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Kids Cafe tackles the escalating problem of child hunger by providing hot meals to at-risk/hungry children during non-school hours. A trademarked program of Feeding America, Kids Cafe currently feeds children at more than 1,500 sites across the country. Included with the hot meal are enrichment activities such as homework assistance, sports, arts and crafts and nutrition education. The goal is to provide children with the nutrients they need to thrive and grow and to teach them about food and proper nutrition so that they can make better food choices for improved health and lifelong good health.
According to the USDA, 17 million children in the United States, or nearly 1 in 4, are food insecure. Each year, the Feeding America network serves nearly 14 million of these children.
Kids Cafes in Westchester: |
| 1. |
Boys & Girls Club, Mt. Kisco |
135 Kids |
| 2. |
Shiloh Baptist Church, New Rochelle |
30 Kids |
| 3. |
Carver Center, Port Chester |
119 Kids |
| 4. |
Don Bosco Center, Port Chester |
100 Kids |
| 6. |
Lois Bronz, White Plains |
35 Kids |
| 7. |
YMCA, Yonkers |
40 Kids |
| 8. |
YCAP, Yonkers |
40 Kids |
| 9. |
New Little Branches/Lanza Learning Center, Yonkers |
15 Kids |
Kids Cafe Statistics 2010-2011 |
| - |
8 Kids Cafes fed 899 children |
| - |
Total Meals Served: 170,331 |
| - |
Breakfasts: 14,616 |
| - |
Lunches: 22,134 |
| - |
Snacks: 57,988 |
| - |
Dinners: 75,593 |
| - |
Nutrition Education: 95 classes reached 1,524 children |
After starting a Kids Cafe, many of the Westchester programs report a noticeable difference in the behavior of the children:
“The children have more energy to participate in the physical activities.”
“They are more focused when working on homework or learning computer applications.”
“They are so much nicer to each other… (There is) less crying and screaming and fighting.”
“Serving that meal to the children is the best thing we have ever done. The children actually sit around the table and socialize…like adults at a dinner party.”
For more information about Kids Cafe, contact Ferne Bordash, Manager, Direct Servicies, at (914) 923-1100 or Ferne.Bordash@foodbankforwestchester.org.
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