Summer is a time of additional stress for low-income families struggling to feed their children with ten additional meals per week previously provided through school. Freshwise Catering sponsors 40 Summer Meals sites across Rochester to provide a fresh, nutritious meal to children.
Kids Cafe is a national program of that aims at fighting childhood hunger and the consequences of going hungry.
Freshwise sponsored 35 Kids Cafe sites throughout the Greater Rochester area and surrounding counties last year. Kids Cafe works to lessen the impact of hunger by offering children afterschool homework help, nutritional education, and a hot nutritious supper from a menu that relies on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Sites located in community centers and churches are open to all children daily and on Saturdays in some locations. Children who take part in their after-school programs with Kids Cafe sites will also receive a free meal.
Our Kids Cafe sites provided over 200,000 meals in a supportive, nurturing environment last school year alone.
Interested in hosting a Kids Cafe site for the 2009-2010 school year?
Contact Foodlink at (585) 328-3380 or info@foodlinkny.org
What does Kids Cafe offer children?
Locations in both urban and rural areas
A nutritious meal that exceeds regulated nutrition requirements for child nutrition programs
A safe environment
An opportunity to participate in socialization activities
Why do our children need Kids Cafe?
13 million kids live in households that do not have an adequate supply of food
40% of all emergency shelter food recipients are children, even though they represent only 25% of the U.S. population
Even mild under-nutrition experienced by children may lead to reductions in physical growth and affect brain development
The Rochester City School District reports 88% of its school children qualify for free or reduced cost meals
Rochester ranks 11th worst in the nation for childhood poverty
Poor nutrition can:
Create behavior problems
Shorten attention spans
Contribute to poor academic achievement
Lower energy levels
Increase incidents of high blood pressure
Aid in early onset of Type II Diabetes
Contribute to overweight and obesity
What is the history of Kids Cafe?
In Savannah, GA in 1989, two young brothers were discovered late one night in the kitchen of their housing project's community center. The older brother had broken into the kitchen to feed himself and his younger brother.
In response to this glaring example of childhood hunger in their local community, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia started the first Kids Cafe. In 1993, America's Second Harvest launched the national Kids Cafe program.
There are currently more than 1,000 Kids Cafes in operation in the U.S., with plans to expand the number of sites through the Feeding Children Better Program.
Freshwise Catering • 936 Exchange Street • Rochester, NY 14608 • P: (585) 254-4423 • F: (585) 647-2808
