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The Y Fights Child Hunger this Summer with Help from the Walmart Foundation

YMCA of Silicon Valley joins national effort to provide 7 million meals to children this summer, as part of Walmart's Summer Giving Campaign

SAN JOSE, July 7, 2011 – When the school year ends, so do free meals for the millions of children in low-income households who depend on them most. This summer, YMCA of Silicon Valley is offering free nutritious meals to more than 2,600 children in communities across East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Redwood City and San Jose, thanks to a $62,500 grant from YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) and Walmart to feed more children through the national Summer Food Service Program. The program, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides free meals to children aged 18 and under while school is out of session. Nationally, more than 300 Ys will provide 7 million meals to 70,000 children this summer.

According to the USDA, 19.5 million low-income children across the country receive free or reduced-cost meals during the school year.

"In Silicon Valley alone the statistics are alarming, with 1 in every 4 people suffering from hunger," said Mary Hoshiko Haughey, vice president of Program and Community Development at YMCA of Silicon Valley. "Of those numbers, 40,000 of them are children."

As part of the YMCA of Silicon Valley summer food program, children aged 18 and under will continue to receive two meals a day. Not only will this help thousands of children get nutrition they need for good health, but it also will help alleviate the strain on family food budgets when school is out.

"Millions of children and families are at greater risk for hunger in the summer months," says Hoshiko Haughey. "With so many children who lose access to daily meals when the school lunch program is over, the Y is committed to stepping in and helping to ensure our children stay healthy and strong."

YMCA of Silicon Valley's summer food program received funding as part of Walmart's Summer Giving Campaign – a broad $25 million initiative aimed at filling the gaps created when schools close this summer. The initiative will help expand nutrition, learning and employment services to more than 110,000 U.S. middle and high school students throughout the summer months. Walmart contributed a $3 million grant to Y-USA to address child hunger.

YMCA of Silicon Valley was also recognized for last year's efforts offering summer food programming for children through funding received from the American Recovery Act and Santa Clara County. The Y partnered with the City of San Jose, the Boys and Girls Club, First Five and Mexican Heritage Corporation to create 42 summer food programs that served 5,000 kids over the summer. In addition, the Y provided technical support for the City of San Jose to implement its own summer food program. Beyond its summer food program, the Y partners with Second Harvest Food Bank during the school year to deliver a truckload of food once a week to three YMCA after-school programs, so that families can access fresh produce in their own community.

"The greatest aspect of this," said Hoshiko Haughey, "is that it's not just for families enrolled in the after-school program but for all families in the community. The line of people stretches around the block. It's amazing what they are doing and what we can do in partnership."

For its long-term strategy, the Y participates in the state food program Summer Food Coalition and in the Packard Summer Learning Summer Food Task Force, strategizing how to engage after-school programs to operate during summer months and provide summer food for children and their families.

Help the Y Raise Awareness
The need to provide healthy meals to children over the summer is critical, as more families struggle with the issue of hunger. To help generate awareness, supporters are invited to tweet about the Y's hunger efforts with the hashtag #YFightHunger on Twitter (e.g., "the Y is feeding 70,000 kids this summer. #YFightHunger). The Y's goal is to collect 70,000 "tweets" to represent each of the 70,000 children that the Y will feed this summer. This live Twitter feed will appear on a webpage on the Y's national website, ymca.net. To learn more about the YMCA of Silicon Valley summer food program, visit ymca.net/summer-food-program or ymcasv.org.