Funds will help provide food, nutrition education to Kidventure Summer Camp kids.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department has received a $25,000 grant to support nutrition for area youth during the upcoming Kidventure Summer Camp.
The grant is part of $1.5 million the National Recreation and Park Association received from the Walmart Foundation to support out-of-school youth programs in 40 park and recreation agencies across the country.
The grant’s purpose is to increase the number of healthy meals children in low-income communities receive when they are not in school; teach the importance of healthy eating to children and families to inspire a change in behavior; increase access to healthier foods; and implement meal and program efficiencies that increase community stability.
Battle Creek Parks and Rec will use its grant to purchase equipment for the kitchen at Full Blast, as well as provide nutrition curriculum during the summer Kidventure Summer Camp. The department also will receive additional support for meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plus educational materials on nutrition to help instill life-long healthy habits in our community.
Kids ages 5 to 12 can attend the city’s 10-week summer camp, or choose particular weeks to attend. The camp offers swim lessons at the Battle Creek YMCA, weekly trips to the Flash Flood Water Park, weekly field trips, park visits, and much more. Each child also is provided with breakfast, lunch, and a snack each day.
The city this summer will host 215 kids who will benefit from the grant.
The grant supports the NRPA’s Commit to Health campaign, which encourages the implementation of Healthy Eating, Physical Activity standards in park and recreation sites nationwide.
According to Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, 48.8 million Americans, including more than 13 million kids, struggle with hunger. During the school year, more than 21 million low-income children receive free or reduced meals to help them meet daily nutrition needs, but only 3 million of these children receive these meals during the summer, making programs like the Kidventure Camp that much more critical to the health and wellness of our youth.