Every young person should be equipped to make healthy decisions resulting in positive social, emotional and physical well-being.
Boys & Girls Clubs across the country serve as sites and sponsors for USDA programs that provide healthy meals and snacks to children during out-of-school time, while also supporting educational and enrichment programs that keep children learning, engaged and safe.
Boys & Girls Clubs are trusted organizations in communities and fulfill a critical need when children are not in school.
More than 22 million children receive free or reduced-cost meals through the National School Lunch Program, but only 3.8 million of these kids continue to receive meals through the USDA’s Summer Food Service program.
Especially during the summer these site-based meal programs serve a critical need in communities, in addition to providing healthy meals; they stop summer learning loss through educational programs, keep kids active and provide safety check-ins during the summer.
57 percent of Club members qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches. For many children, these may be the only nutritious meals they enjoy on a normal day.
The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act would expand and further support meal and snack programs provided at Boys & Girls Clubs across the country.