In January the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich started distributing free meals to members who qualify for free or reduced lunch in school.
Filling in the Blanks, a non-profit located in Norwalk, provides meals for the weekend to children who qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Members on the Filling in the Blanks leadership committee work to make sure no child is overlooked for this program, and research identified Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich as having members who would also qualify.
With the support of donations, the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich provides healthy snacks to children enrolled in the After-School Program when they arrive at The Club from school.
Healthy snacks ensure the children are fueled for their afternoon of activities. 55% of Club members, who attend the Club most often, qualify to receive free or reduced-cost lunch.
This statistic applies to the weekend meal program as well.
“Knowing that every child always has meals to eat is important. We are grateful to Filling in the Blanks for their work to ensure children in need have meals on the weekends,” said Bobby Walker, the Boys & Girls Club CEO.
Derron and Marion Slonecker sponsored the program for the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich through Filling in the Blanks. “Marion and I are so happy to be associated with Filling in the Blanks and Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich and support the great work that you both do,” Derron said.
The Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich started distributing these meals provided by Filling in the Blanks this past January 2019. Qualifying families received notice that they were eligible from the Club.
In turn, parents of these children signed up to pick up these meals. On Fridays, each ‘weekend meal’ registered member receives fruit, a bag of non-perishable and easy to prepare food and drinks which is enough to the last for their entire weekend.
Parents of these members regularly express gratitude to the staff when they pick up their meals.
Parents of BGCG members who are eligible for the program and in need of food for their children over the weekend should contact the Club at [email protected] or (203) 869-3224.