22 Nov YUSA, Walmart Food Program Awards $33,500 Grant to YMCA of Greater Kansas City
YMCA of Greater Kansas City recently received a grant for $33,500 from the YUSA Walmart Food Program to support the Y’s scaling of the number of open meal sites and available weekend breakfasts as well as the implementation of a food pantry between June 1, 2019-May 2020.
Once limited to simply providing meals and snacks through CACFP at Y Head Start Centers and using the National School Lunch Program for snack at Y-Club afterschool sites, the Y now has a comprehensive strategy for addressing child hunger and increasing food access. In 2019, the Y will maintain existing sites while adding additional weekend and open meal sites, and launch a food pantry, farmers market, and build a greenhouse to grow produce year-round at one strategic demonstration site.
The purpose of the Y’s meal program is to ensure that healthy food is available, adequate, accessible, affordable, and appropriate. It is the Y’s goal that all sites within the food program offer five component meals rather than snacks and that meals ideally include fresh components. Currently, five component meals are served at all afterschool Y Clubs in eligible locations. The Y is an advocate for healthy nutrition in policy and practice. The awareness and knowledge gained by the Y’s participation in the YUSA Walmart Food Program since 2012 helped the Y scale the food program across the association to include membership centers, Early Education sites, and afterschool and summer programming, which are all serving meals utilizing the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program. The Healthy Eating Physical Activity (HEPA) standards of the Y are the standard expectation for the nutrition quality of the meals. Standards are continually researched and integrated into operations and programming.
One hundred percent of all Y Club licensed before/afterschool programming and summer camp program locations that are in area-eligible locations are now part of the food program. With the additions described in this proposal, 83% (five out of six) of the Y membership centers in area-eligible locations in the Kansas City association will offer meal programs. Y Food Program staff are working with the final site, the Red Bridge Y, to evaluate capacity to launch this offering in the future. The Y’s wide net of service and operational service model uniquely positions the agency to advocate for healthy food access, participate in the fight against child hunger, and partner strategically with other agencies addressing these issues.
The YMCA of Greater Kansas City was launched in 1860 as the seventh YMCA in North America. It was organized to provide a safe refuge for young men coming to the urban environment to work and helped prevent them from falling victim to the negative influences commonly found in such areas. The Y’s mission has evolved over the years, but what remains constant is the organization’s commitment to strengthening community. The Y engages men, women, and children, regardless of age, income, or background, to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors.