Great Miami Valley YMCA receives funding for food programs

The Great Miami Valley YMCA will receive part of more than $33 million in grants given to nonprofits nationwide by Walmart and the Walmart Foundation.

The funding awards were announced this week and the Walmart Foundation said $1,874,980 in grants were given to seven national and statewide non-profit organizations to support local hunger programs in communities throughout Ohio.

The funding will help thousands of Ohio children and families through several different programs and initiatives.

Eight local YMCA affiliates in Ohio, including the Great Miami Valley YMCA, will share in $240,500 from the YMCA of the USA to support initiatives that provide meals to children during after school and summer programs.

Liza Deaton, Great Miami Valley YMCA’s communications manager, said the grant money helps provide food for daycare and camp programs.

“We received a $12,500 grant from the YMCA of the USA under the 2016 Year Round Food Program Grant,” Deaton explained. “We use this money to provide lunch and snacks for Atrium Day camp, providing healthier snacks for Atrium and Fitton’s after school programs and a small part went to central’s playground program. We have received this grant since 2013.”

Ohio-based Children’s Hunger Alliance received a $1.5 million grant earlier this year to help Ohio childcare locations provide 2.2 million meals through the federally reimbursed Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and develop a statewide needs assessment to determine which locations are in need of CACFP sponsorship.

Children’s Hunger Alliance also received $35,000 through the Food Research and Action Center to help local anti-hunger organizations with outreach support in underserved and high-need areas, help schools provide access to breakfast, lunch and after school and summer meals for students, and provide technical assistance for state and local governments to update policies impacting SNAP and school feeding programs.

Three local park and recreation departments in Ohio received $50,000 from the National Recreation and Park Association to provide meals and nutrition education programs to children.

The Ohio Association of Food Banks received $20,000 from the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities to implement changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application and renewal process and improve existing outreach programs on the state and local level.

Three Ohio non-profits received $11,980 from Share Our Strength to provide people eight-week cooking courses, “Cooking Matters at the Store” shopping tours and create a self-guided nutrition education application.

Jeff Stone, Walmart market manager, said all of the above programs are part of the company’s efforts to work with others to make sure needy families and children have access to healthy food.

“Walmart is dedicated to ensuring every family has access to healthy and affordable food,” Stone said. “We’re proud to work with these local non-profits to support hunger relief and nutrition education for Ohio families in need.”

About the Author