A growing number of families in southwestern Pennsylvania struggle to make ends meet, and 1 in 6 kids are facing food insecurity.
Jordain and her husband live in the Shannock Valley area, where they are raising their 5-year-old daughter. Summers are often especially challenging. While Jordain’s husband works, during the summer Jordain stays at home and takes care of her grandmother during the day.
Although the Armstrong School District provides free meals for all students during the school year (about 102,000 meals a year), the summer months are a different story. For the past two summers, however, Jordain has been able to provide her daughter healthy, grab-and-go meals through their local Summer Youth Café.
The Youth Café is a federally funded child nutrition program that partners with Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to provide free, healthy breakfasts and lunches — plus a lot more — to school-age children 18 and under while schools are on summer break. There are currently 150 Summer Youth Café sites throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.
“We really strive to ensure Summer Youth Café sites feel like fun,” says Kelsey Gross of the Food Bank. “Kids are often coming to our sites and doing fun things while they’re there.”
Jordain says that having easy, grab-and-go meals on hand for her daughter is really helpful. “She’s a very picky eater, but she absolutely loves these,” Jordain says. “There are a variety of choices, and she eats everything she gets.”