Last week, No Kid Hungry announced its first-ever cohort of Afterschool Meals Champions, individuals from across the country who are doing phenomenal work to make sure kids are getting the nutrition they need after school. The twelve champions represent the wide array of people and organizations providing meals through the CACFP Afterschool Meals Program – from schools to food banks, faith-based organizations, YMCAs, tribal organizations and more.
Patrick Doyle, Chief Operating Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area, was one of only twelve across the country selected through a competitive application process.
Patrick has extensive experience operating the CACFP Afterschool Meals Program at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area, where he works tirelessly to expand the program in order to serve more kids and families. Thanks to his efforts collaborating with other community partners and programs, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area has seen significant growth, and now serves more than 1,100 dinners to kids each day. Through a brand new industrial kitchen and a Freight Farm, a commercial grade, hydroponic farm inside a shipping container that allows kids to grow their own lettuce, they now employ a total of 18 full-time and part-time employees.
As an Afterschool Champion, Patrick will work closely with No Kid Hungry to expand access to afterschool meals in New York and across the country by providing technical assistance, speaking on webinars and at in-person events and helping develop resources and case studies.
For a lot of kids in the United States, food isn’t always available when they get home in the evening. For some, school lunch may be the last complete meal they eat before returning to school the next day. Afterschool meal programs provide not just nutrition, but also the sense of security that comes with being able to count on an evening meal every day.
In addition to a supper or snack, afterschool meal programs include enrichment activities, providing kids with a safe place to go in the afternoon when parents may not be home. And this impacts kids – Research shows that attendance and graduation rates go up when students participate in afterschool programs, and offering meals encourages kids to participate in these valuable activities.
No Kid Hungry honored two other New Yorkers in their 2019 School Afterschool Meals Hall of Fame. Kerry Tooker, Child Nutrition Program Specialist at Long Island Cares, Inc. – The Harry Chapin Food Bank and Claire Savini, Child Nutrition Program Manager at Foodlink, were both recognized for their work to expand afterschool meals in their communities and beyond.
Please join us in congratulating Patrick, Kerry and Claire! We’re proud of their contribution to ending childhood hunger in the Empire State.
Anna Lourie, Field Associate, No Kid Hungry New York