Welcome back to our blog series, the No Kid Hungry New York Partner Spotlight. We’ll be speaking to our partners across the state, learning what’s new in their summer meals programs, and celebrating the tremendous work they do to ensure that more kids have access to the the fuel they need to learn, grow and thrive. This week, we heard form Ethan Luce at the Jamestown Area YMCA, a community organization serving Western New York.
Tell us about your community. What makes the area special?
The Jamestown area is unique because of the number of community partners the Jamestown YMCA shares. During our summer meal program, we work with local libraries, summer learning programs, school districts, and our parks and recreations office to provide serving sites and safe eating spaces for children. Outside of summer meals the Y works with several partners to uphold our values of healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility.
What are some of the challenges (or barriers) that kids and families face during the summer? How has implementing more flexible summer feeding options helped to overcome this?
Many of the children we have met this summer have working parents who aren’t home to help with lunch. Our summer meal program provides several sites within safe walking distance of homes and fully prepared meals which allows children to pick up meals without their parents. The grab-n-go sites have been helpful to older children with younger siblings because they can pick up meals and take lunch home to them. The grab-n-go sites are also great for families with large amounts of kids because one person can pick up meals for everyone.
What are the most popular items on your summer menu? What is your favorite item to serve?
Two popular breakfast items that kids love this year is muffins and mini waffles! They come in small packages, and kids feel special they each get their own. Another fun meal is our pizza wraps. We give them a wheat tortilla shell along with a cup of spaghetti and cheese sticks so they can build their own pizza! We also usually serve pineapple cups on pizza day, if the kids are daring enough to eat pineapple pizza.
If you could tell everyone in America something about summer meals, especially flexible feeding options (e.g. grab-no-go, pick-up meals, home-delivered meals), what would you tell them?
Free summer meals aren’t just for low-income families! Food insecurity can affect children regardless of the money their family makes. Some families who don’t have vehicles may have a hard time making frequent trips to the grocery store which is why summer food programs should offer as many sites as possible to provide meals within walking distance. Grab-n-go sites are also beneficial to rural communities, who have less grocery store options to choose from.
Anything else you would like to add?
Our meal program helps families who would normally struggle with feeding children. Serving meals, we have met working parents who make enough money they don’t receive food stamps but are still tight on money after paying for summer childcare. Providing a breakfast and lunch for children takes some of the burden off parents.
At No Kid Hungry New York, we thank Ethan and the food service staff members at the Jamestown YMCA for their dedication and enthusiasm in feeding kids throughout the summer. We’re grateful to support their work and honored to shine a spotlight on their extraordinary program!