South Shore YMCA Receives Summer Food Bonus Grant

The South Shore YMCA has been named as a recipient of a $5,000 Summer Food Bonus Grant by YMCA of the USA, funds intended to help fight food insecurity in the Y’s service area.
The Y is utilizing the grant in July and August to increase its capacity to provide equitable access to food to summer campers attending Camp Quirk in Quincy. “It’s hard to be a kid and have limited options to find nutritious food,” said Katelyn Szafir, Executive Director of the Quincy Y. “We are working to fix such problems, so that no kids goes hungry.”

The grant expands upon a $10,000 Food Program Grant from YMCA of the USA that focuses on improving access to food for kids throughout the school year. The Y operates afterschool programs in three communities – Quincy, Norwell and Scituate – and early learning centers in Hanover, Quincy and Norwell, interacting with more than 900 children per week, from six months old to middle schoolers. “Their needs can vary, obviously,” said Kristine Swan, Vice President of Youth Development for the Y. “But we are here for their care, growth and development, and that includes providing healthy snacks and opportunities for physical activity on any day those children are within our care.”

A benefit of being named as a recipient of the Food Program and Summer Food Bonus Grants is the opportunity for best practices sharing with other “Anti-Hunger Heroes” working at YMCAs across the United States. “The Food Program Grant has helped us prepare for the return to school in the fall, both in terms of our physical capacity to store and deliver food, but also in the realm of new ideas,” said Swan. “YMCAs everywhere are doing this work and we are all sharing our ideas liberally, knowing that we are all facing the same issues and hoping to reach the same goals of eradicating food insecurity.”

For more information about the South Shore YMCA or the Summer Food Bonus Grant, visit ssymca.org or contact Mary Orne, Chief Development Officer at morne@ssymca.org.