Food Truck Serving Free Meals to Children Hits Streets of New Haven

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                                                 
July 19, 2011

Food Truck Serving Free Meals to Children Hits Streets of New Haven
First Free Meal Truck for Kids in the State!

New Haven School Food and United Way of Greater New Haven are revving up the New Haven Summer Food Truck to hit the road on Monday, July 25th. Generously donated by United Way to New Haven Public Schools, the Summer Food Truck will deliver free, nutritious meals to New Haven kids and teens,18 & under, throughout the rest of summer. New Haven School Food and United Way are partners in the Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign, an initiative led by End Hunger Connecticut!, Governor Malloy, and Share Our Strength, to end childhood hunger in Connecticut by 2015.  This is the first food truck to serve summer meals tyo children and youth in Connecticut.

In households with children, almost 1 in 5 or 18.7% struggle to put food on the table, which means that more than 127,000 Connecticut children are considered food insecure1. In New Haven, more than 75% of the students qualified for free and reduced price school meals in 2010. However, of students enrolled in school meals programs, only one in four received meals through the federally-funded Summer Food Service Program last summer. Kids and teens do not stop needing healthy meals when school is out. In fact, summer can be one of the toughest times for families relying on school food programs to help them make ends meet.

Good nutrition is an essential building block for healthy growth and development and educational success. Often times, the biggest barrier for kids and teens to participate in the free summer meals program is simply not being able to get there. Embracing Governor Malloy’s Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign charge - “We’ve gotta make this work for everybody. We’re gonna make this work in Connecticut.”-  United Way and New Haven School Food are tackling the transportation barrier by bringing meals to kids and teens where they live.

United Way’s Summer Food Truck grant to the New Haven Public Schools will make it possible to deliver two meals per weekday – 1,000 free meals a day-- to children living in underserved neighborhoods throughout New Haven.  Federal funds pay for the cost of the program

Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, along with other elected officials, will be in attendance to kick-off the New Haven Summer Food Truck program and help make sure that there is No Kid Hungry in Connecticut!

Date: ​  ​​July 25, 2011​
Time:        9:00am
Location: NHPS Central Kitchen, 75 Barnes Ave, New Haven


Media Contacts and Resources:​
​
Kathy Hart-Jones, Director of Marketing & Communications
United Way of Greater New Haven     Ph: 203.691.4202    Cell: 203.913-4420
Email: khartjones@uwgnh.org      Web: www.uwgnh.org

Chef Timothy Cipriano, Executive Director of Food Services
New Haven Public Schools       Ph: 203-946-8813 Ext: 11   Cell: 203-410-0831
Email:  Timothy.cipriano@new-haven.k12.ct.us
Web:  www.nhschoolfood.blogspot.com   www.nhps.net/NHSchoolFood

Shannon Robins, Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign Manager
A Partnership of End Hunger Connecticut! and Share Our Strength
Email: srobins@endhungerct.org     Ph: 860.878.4971   www.endhungerct.org

TRUCK LOCATIONS:
School                                Address                               Lunch                            Supper

Betsy Ross School          150 Kimberly Ave               10:30am-11:15am           4:00pm-4:45pm


Helene Grant School       185 Goffe Street                   11:30am-12:15pm            5:00pm-5:45pm


Microsociety School       311 Valley Street                  12:30pm-1:15pm             6:00pm-6:45pm

Footnote 1: The lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to lack of financial resources.

About United Way of Greater New Haven
United Way advances the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all.  Our focus is on education, income and health – the building blocks for a good quality of life.  United Way recruits people and organizations that bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done.  Learn more at uwgnh.org.

About New Haven School Food
New Haven School Food is one of the country’s most progressive school meal programs.  Since July 2008, NH School Food has revamped its menus in an effort to educate children about food and where it comes from. The menus are full of fresh fruits & vegetables, many schools now have gardens and all sugary sweets have all but been eliminated. Chef Timothy Cipriano, Executive Director, is a leading advocate for ending childhood hunger and increasing real foods in schools. Chef Tim has gone above and beyond to make that happen working collaboratively with Congress, the USDA and the White House to improve school meals.

About Connecticut No Kid Hungry
The Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign is a statewide public-private partnership with Share Our Strength® and End Hunger Connecticut! aimed at ending childhood hunger by 2015 in the state by significantly increasing participation in federally-funded food and nutrition programs over the next five years. Learn more at www.endhungerct.org or www.ctsummerfood.org.

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