Kids Cafe
Kids Cafe, a program of America's Second Harvest, is one of the nation's largest free meal service programs for children. Since the program's inception in 1993, Kids Cafe has become an important tool in our efforts to end childhood hunger.
History
In Savannah, Georgia, 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 and 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 United States.
Why is Kids Cafe so important?
Children who are denied an adequate diet are at a greater risk than other children of not reaching their full potential as individuals. Children who are undernourished have trouble concentrating and bonding with other children and are more likely to suffer illnesses that force them to be absent from school. They consistently perform poorly on standardized tests. And, poor performance early in school is a major risk factor for dropping out of school in later years. According to labor statistics, educational attainment is perhaps the greatest indicator of job and income mobility, so the impact of childhood hunger can be lifelong.
Goals
The primary goal of the Kids Cafe program is to provide free and prepared food and nutrition education to hungry children. Kids Cafes across the country achieve this goal by utilizing existing community resources, such as Boys and Girls Clubs, schools, or community centers where children already naturally congregate.
Nutritional Education
One distinctive element of this program is nutrition education. Through age-appropriate games and activities, children learn about good nutrition and safe food handling. Some of the games focus on the importance of washing hands or the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. A Kids Cafe may be the place where many children learn about the benefits of eating well-balanced meals. For example, they learn that drinking milk aids in developing strong bones.
Kids Cafes in central Pennsylvania
In 2000, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank opened its first Kids Cafe at the Central Allison Community Center in Harrisburg. With the success and support of the community, as well as grants from ConAgra’s Feeding Children Better Program and the Greater Harrisburg Foundation, a second program was opened at the Salvation Army Citadel in Harrisburg.
Because of these accomplishments, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank began a partnership with the Harrisburg School District in January 2002. With more than 80% of the students receiving free or reduced lunches, feeding less fortunate children is a major concern of the city of Harrisburg and they asked the Food Bank for help. As a result, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank operates 14 Kids Cafe sites within the Harrisburg School District itself and now coordinates meals for more than 700 children each day after school.
Other Kids Cafe partners include the Allison Hill Community Ministry, the Neighborhood Center of the United Methodist Church and Center for Champions, which are community after school programs operating in the city of Harrisburg.
In Lancaster County
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster teamed up to create a unique after-school program - the Kids Cafe Supper Club in Lancaster County. Each day after school, low-income youth can find well-balanced dinners or nutritious snacks as well as other activities at four different locations in Lancaster and Columbia including the Steinman Clubhouse, the Columbia Clubhouse, the Jack Walker Clubhouse, and the Hill Clubhouse. Together, these four sites provide evening meals and snacks to approximately 250 children each day during the school year.
In 2005, the Food Bank expanded Kids Cafe programming into Mifflin and Juniata Counties. Two new sites, including the LUMINA Center in Lewistown and the Juniata County Learning Center, provide after school programming to an average of 50 children each day.
Contact Karen Woodings at (717) 564-1700 ext. 3032 or kwoodings@centralpafoodbank.org or Jorja Barton at (717) 564-1700 ext. 3026 or jbarton@centralpafoodbank.org for more information about the Kids Cafe program.