The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina has received a $10,000 grant from the Red Nose Day Fund to support the First Baptist Church Kids Cafe in Johnston County.
With support from the Red Nose Day Fund, the Kids Cafe will serve 60 children nutritious dinners five nights per week, providing a total of 10,200 nutritious meals during the 2015-16 school year. Funding for this Kids Cafe will also help ensure the children are given the support they need to achieve academic, social, and behavioral development goals. Additionally, nutrition education and healthy lifestyle mentoring provided has a positive impact on the children, their families, and the community.
Red Nose Day is a fundraising campaign by the nonprofit Comic Relief to raise money for children and young people living in poverty. The first Red Nose Day in the US was on May 21, 2015 (although in Europe, this campaign has been going on for 30 years).
In the 34 counties served by the Food Bank, more than 212,000 children live in food insecure households, meaning they lack consistent access to enough nutritious food to live a healthy, active life. The Food Bank’s Kids Cafe Program addresses this problem by partnering with respected local nonprofit organizations to provide low income, food insecure children with nutritious food and enrichment activities in a positive and safe environment after school. Under the supervision of trustworthy staff and volunteers, children participating in our Kids Cafes receive nutritious meals, tutoring by volunteer counselors and mentors from the business and academic arenas, and physical activity, nutrition and health education to encourage healthier lifestyles.
Nearly 650,000 individuals are “food insecure” in the 34 counties served by the Food Bank.
For more information about the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina visit foodbankcenc.org.
