Food Lion Foundation Awards $20,000 Summer Grant
Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation awards Boys & Girls Clubs of Frederick County $20,000 for summer food access and nutrition education.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Frederick County has received a $20,000 Summers Without Hunger grant from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation. The funding will help the Frederick, Maryland, organization provide nutritious food, nutrition education and related resources for children and families during the summer months. Boys & Girls Clubs of Frederick County provides healthy snacks and meals every day to more than 280 youth per year. The grant supports an established local program combining food access, nutrition education and youth activities.
Support for Summer Meals
The Summers Without Hunger grant supports community feeding partners working to increase access to nutritious food, nutritional education and resources for children and families experiencing food insecurity. At Boys & Girls Clubs of Frederick County, healthy snacks, meals, physical fitness time and nutrition education are part of its Healthy Lifestyles priority.
Timika Thrasher, chief executive officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Frederick County, said:
“Healthy Lifestyles is one of our organization's three key priorities for the youth we serve. Every day, youth who come to Boys & Girls Clubs receive healthy snacks and meals, and physical fitness time. We also facilitate nutrition education activities for the youth we serve, so we are not only addressing food insecurity in the present but are encouraging them to make a lifelong commitment to good nutrition and healthy habits.”
Programs for Frederick Youth
The organization has served the Frederick community since 2009, offering programs for 280 youth annually during out-of-school time. Its offerings include Power Hour homework help, SMART Girls, Passport to Manhood and Positive Action, as well as educational field trips and activities with peers and adults.
More than half of the youth it serves annually receive a partial or full scholarship, and no child or family is turned away because they cannot pay membership dues.
Foundation Hunger Relief Work
The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation supports food-access programs across Food Lion’s 10-state footprint. Since its establishment in 2001, the foundation has awarded more than $25 million in grant funding to help communities access fresh food.
Food Lion reports that its Food Lion Feeds hunger-relief platform has donated more than 1.5 billion meals since 2014 and has committed to donate 3 billion meals by 2032. The charitable foundation also partners with Feeding America and local food agencies in the states where Food Lion operates.
Resources for Local Families
The grant provides Boys & Girls Clubs of Frederick County with support for nutritious food, nutrition education and resources for children and families during the summer months. It directs private funding toward a Frederick youth organization that provides meals, activities and educational programs outside school hours.
