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“School meal programs allow our children and young adults to get the nutrition they need while they’re in school during the year, but only a quarter of students continue to receive meals during the summer,” Himes said. “Thank you to End Hunger CT!, Share Our Strength and the Norwalk Public Schools for coordinating this event and working together to increase participation in this critical program over the summer months."
Through the summer meals program, children age 18 and younger are given free, nutritious meals and snacks through the entire summer, at hundreds of locations across the state. Many of the locations also offer entertainment and activities.
There were four sites in Norwalk: Brien McMahon High School, Brookside Elementary School, Columbus Elementary School and Tracey Elementary School.
“In coordinating the 2014 Summer Meals Program in Norwalk, we used an approach called 'collective impact,' wherein a group of diverse organizations come together to solve a complex social issue,” said Ruthann Walsh, director of Corporate Citizenship at Pepperidge Farm Inc.
"We put together a plan quickly, effectively and now 7.500 meals are being served each week to Norwalk’s children and in more sites than last year.”
Lucy Nolan, executive director of End Hunger CT!, said, “This event is symbolic of the community collaboration that occurred this year to ensure there are fun and safe places in Norwalk for kids to go for healthy meals when school is out.”
The summer meals program was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Norwalk Public Schools sponsored the meals, and other organizations involved included Pepperidge Farm, Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Person to Person, ACHIEVE and the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County.
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