The United Boys & Girls Club of Carpinteria announced that the organization was able to serve more than 115,000 nutritional snacks to local youths in 2013 thanks to the food support of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
The Foodbank provided enough free and low-priced food items for the club to serve a vast accumulation of healthy snacks throughout the year to children in need, including food served after school, as well as breakfast, lunch and two snacks during summer and recess days.
Without the support of the Foodbank and all of its contributors, many of these children would go without proper nutritional meals and snacks. An important factor about the food the club receives is that the quality is quite outstanding, especially the fresh produce so graciously donated to the Foodbank by local farmers and ranchers.
Each week a club representative is able to shop at the Foodbank, which carries an abundance of fruits and vegetables, in addition to refrigerated, frozen, canned and boxed food items, which are later prepared into nutritional snacks for hungry children.
“I am so pleased to see children putting down the hot Cheetos bags they brought from home and picking up apples instead,” said Amanda Lyon, a club staff who helps prepare the daily snacks.
Every child who walks through the club’s door is offered something to eat, and children may be sent home with healthy weekend snack bags if there are leftover perishable items. Children don’t only eat the snacks, but they are also educated about the foods they consume, healthy lifestyles and good nutrition thanks to specialized club programming and the Foodbank’s program Farmers Market.
The club staff, children and parents thank the Foodbank and everyone who contributes to it for keeping the youth in the community appropriately fed.
— Jamie Collins is director of the United Boys & Girls Club of Carpinteria.
http://www.noozhawk.com/article/united_boys_amp_girls_clubs_of_carpinteria_snacks_foodbank_support_20140220
