Press release:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recognized the YMCA of Western North Carolina’s 2016 Summer Meal Program with a Silver Turnip the Beet Award.
The Turnip the Beet Award acknowledges organizations that go the extra mile to provide nutritious meals and offer participants a variety of fruits, vegetables, and kid-friendly entrees. The YMCA was one of 31 national Silver Award recipients.
The goal of the Summer Meal Program is to reduce childhood hunger when school is out and free/reduced lunches aren’t available. Last summer the YMCA of WNC ran eight distribution sites and served more than 37,000 nutritious meals. Five of the locations were for children enrolled at YMCA summer day camps in Buncombe and McDowell counties. Three served people of all ages, done in partnership with Asheville City Schools at Asheville Housing Authority communities.
“I am grateful for the Summer Meal Program because it provides a nutritious meal to kids who otherwise might not have one five days a week during the summer,” said Lillian Butler, program coordinator, Hillcrest Enrichment Program.
“We had excellent results from our 2016 season, and look forward to expanding our summer meal program this year to an additional three sites. To keep things interesting for our participants we will offer new, taste-tasted entrees and hands-on nutrition education,” said Cory Jackson, nutrition and wellness director at the YMCA of WNC.
For more information about the YMCA of WNC’s Nutrition Outreach and Education programs, visit nutritionprograms.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.