Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club

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CACFP Success Story

Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club | Bronx, New York

 

When Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club enrolled in CACFP in 2005, they had no second thoughts; providing healthy afterschool meals aligned perfectly with their mission to serve the educational and developmental needs of young people. Director of Operations Jaynemarie Enyonam Angbah explains, “In order for children to function academically and in life, they need access to healthy food.”

                Many of the children that attend the Club’s programs struggle with food insecurity, and may not have access to three healthy meals a day. Through CACFP, the Club can provide a hot meal and a snack during their afterschool programs. They work with a food vendor, Red Rabbit, which delivers refrigerated meals daily. Program staff then heat and serve them to youth in their enrichment programs. The meals are healthy and varied, allowing kids the opportunity to experience new foods and enjoy favorites like rice, chicken, tacos, and other healthy food options.

CACFP has benefitted Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in a number of ways. It helps offset the high cost of food, allowing the Club to serve around 600 meals each day, and it enhances the nutritional quality of the meals and snacks served. Angbah explains, “[CACFP] enabled us to focus on a healthy program. We want to make sure we are serving food that is healthy for our children [and] allows them to live well. CACFP has clear meal requirements to ensure we are serving the nutritious meals kids need.” She also sees connections between afterschool nutrition and broader health outcomes for families, saying, “There are conversations about obesity and diabetes being connected to the foods we eat. We need to give our children and families options to think about foods to incorporate in their regular diets.”

Angbah encourages other afterschool providers to enroll in CACFP as “it a rare gift and opportunity to serve children and families.” To learn more about serving afterschool meals through CACFP, visit AfterschoolMealsNY.org.