Kids Cafe
In Savannah, GA in 1989, two young brothers were discovered late one night in the kitchen of their housing project\'s community center after the older brother broke into the kitchen to feed himself and his younger brother. In response to this glaring example of child hunger, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Coastal Georgia started the first Kids Cafe. In 1993, America\'s Second Harvest launched the national Kids Cafe program. And the Vermont Foodbank began its first Kids Cafe at the Rutland Boys and Girls Club almost three years ago.
Kids Cafe programs provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of existing community locations where children congregate such as Boys and Girls Clubs, churches, and public schools. In addition to providing hot meals to hungry kids, Kids Cafe programs also offer a safe place, where under the supervision of trustworthy staff, a child can get involved in educational, recreational and social activities that draw on existing community programs. The Kids Cafe is the most expansive child-feeding program in the nation with over 1,700 established Kids Cafes in operation.
Here in Vermont, the Foodbank has two Kids Cafe programs operating at the Rutland Boys and Girls Club and the Brattleboro Boys and Girls Club, and a third one about to begin at the Winooski Teen Center. There are plans to begin Kids Cafe programs in Canaan and Burlington this fall and to have ten operational in Vermont by the end of 2009.
The Kids Cafe at the Rutland Boys and Girls Club serves a meal five days per week to approximately 50 children a day. The club offers a variety of programs and activities. The arts and crafts department is led by a youth development professional that has a B.A. in arts and education. The Club also participates in the Triple Play program, a curriculum of nutrition, exercise, and socialization developed by the Boys and Girls Club of America. They have a mentorship program, a career day and the award winning Smart Girls program for girls ages thirteen to sixteen which provides weekly workshops on topics such as substance abuse prevention, pregnancy prevention, relationships, and promoting a positive self image and positive choices.
The Kids Cafe at the Brattleboro Boys and Girls Club began five months ago. They are serving meals on Friday and Saturday evenings and average 50 children per day. The club also offers the Smart Teen Smart Tween program, promoting healthy lifestyles and healthy decision making. The club provides a homework assistance program that they call Power Hour, and a college and career program to help the older youth of the club make positive choices about their future after high school. The club offers sports and recreational programming along with their amazing indoor skate park. Their Keystone Teen Leadership Club plans social events for the older youth of the club and their Torch Club plans similar events for the younger youth. The teens can also benefit from the independent living program that teaches basic life skills and meal preparation.
Our third Kids Cafe at the Winooski Teen Center will start their food service on August 1st and will begin by serving a meal every other week. They currently have 50 to 60 children that attend their program. The center offers arts and crafts, pool tournaments, gardening, cooking classes, field trips and a coffee house night. The teens also participate in activities like diversity night and culture night. Recently the center participated in the Global Peace tiles project, which encourages community service, self expression and creativity, and promotes awareness and understanding of global issues.
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