Community Action Partnership of Madison County operations director Kimberly Lorraine, left, program manager of supportive services JoAnne Morak, center, and nutrition outreach and education program coordinator Jodee Osborne pose at the Canastota office Sept. 5. CAP and the Gorman Foundation of Sherrill spearheaded the Summer Feeding Program in Oneida that fed between 50 and 70 needy children daily through July and August.
Community Action Partnership News
(Oneida, NY- Sept. 2014) Even though school was out for their summer break, the Summer Feeding Program made sure kids in the area didn’t have to go without nutritious meals.
The program ran from July 7 through Aug. 17, serving between 50 and 70 children daily at the Oneida American Legion post. Amanda Larson, president of the Sherrill-based Gorman Foundation who helped fund the program’s startup, said they appreciate the outreach to needy children.
“The program is important because the same kids who qualify for free school lunches still qualify even when school is out,” Larson said. “This program gives them access to at least one guaranteed nutritious meal a day.”
She said the Legion made a convenient site because many area children were involved in the playground program located next door at Vet’s Field. The program was originally planned to be held at the newly opened Gorman Foundation Community Center in the Northside Shopping Center, but Larson said they decided against that because the children would have to cross the street and walk through the parking lot to reach the facility.
Oneida was eligible as a site for the Summer Feeding Program because its school district has more than 50 percent of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, Kimberly Lorraine of the Community Action Partnership of Madison County said. She said as an open site, any child can come for a meal.
“The meals all follow the Department of Education guidelines,” Lorraine said. “There must be one protein, one bread or grain, two fruits or veggies and milk offered at every meal. A sample menu was tuna sandwich on wheat, tomato soup, a banana and milk.”
CAP applied for a grant from the Department of Education and is the sponsor of the program. CAP hired a site coordinator to oversee the daily operations of the program and, as the sponsor, conducts site visits and is responsible for submitting all documentation to the state.
The Gorman Foundation gave $5,000 to fund the space, the coordinator and start-up food and supply costs.
“Without this donation, CAP would not have been able to sponsor a site,” Lorraine said. “This is a reimbursement program, meaning you only receive money for the number of meals served. Without a startup grant, this would have been very risky.”
CAP had volunteers working at the site, plus Melissa King as a part-time paid staff member. They also had a partnership with Summer Youth Employment, providing five teens to work Monday through Thursday for five hours a day for five weeks.
They were paid by the Summer Employment Program, so CAP got free labor, and the kids gained valuable work experience and lessons in responsibility, relating to customers, accuracy and general work ethic.
Lorraine said CAP hopes to continue the program next year and is also considering mobile sites to be able to reach more kids.
Larson encouraged anyone wishing to support the good work CAP continues to do for the community to send their donations to CAP-Madison County, P.O. Box 249, Morrisville, N.Y. 13408.