Written by
Lynne Valencia
DENVER - By the time children arrive at afterschool programs, lunch is a distant memory. Their growing bodies need food just to get through the afternoon. Without it, children feel run down, their attention span shortens, their ability to learn diminishes, and they have difficulty fully participating in afterschool activities. Many afterschool programs run late into the evening - some stay open as late as 9 pm on school nights - to keep children safe and supervised while their parents are at work.
For many years in Colorado, afterschool programs could only receive a small reimbursement for snacks served to children in their care. Afterschool programs often had to scrape together the funds to serve enough food to keep children well-nourished and attentive. This was often a struggle for cash-strapped enrichment programs, particularly programs that served older youth that have higher caloric needs. Now, thanks to the recent Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, afterschool programs can provide a nutritious evening meal to the children in their care.
The Afterschool Meal Program reimburses afterschool enrichment programs in low-income communities to serve dinner, which improves nutrition for children in afterschool and even draws more children into afterschool programming. It's even possible receive reimbursement for both a snack and a meal, if the program is open for long enough. Meals and snacks attract children to out-of-school-time programs, where they can be active, engaged and safe while their parents are at work. Providing healthy meals and snacks is particularly important given the rapidly increasing prevalence of childhood hunger and obesity in Colorado. By providing healthy food, afterschool programs can play a critical role in preventing hunger, obesity, and improving overall health.
The Afterschool Nutrition Programs provides federal reimbursement for meals and snacks served to children aged 18 and younger in afterschool programs that:
• Are located at sites where at least half of the children in the school attendance area are eligible for free and reduced price school meals.
• Offer educational or enrichment activities, after the regular school day ends or on week-ends and holidays, during times of the year when school is in session.
• Meet local health and safety requirements.
• Serve nutritionally balanced meals and snacks that meet USDA's nutrition standards, with foods like milk, meat, vegetables, fruit, and bread.
For more information about the Afterschool Nutrition Programs, please contact Hunger Free Colorado at meghan@hungerfreecolorado.org or 720.328.1284.
This article was provided to us by Hunger Free Colorado, our partner in addressing the issue of hunger in Colorado.
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