Boys & Girls Club-St Char MO - STEAMbotics Academy

The food program obtainable at the Boys & Girls Club remains to be a much needed service. We have seen an increase in the number of children participating in daily meals. The meals and snacks are provided free of charge to any child in the Club during the serving time. The meals served are prepared from foods obtained from local grocery outlets and produce stands when in season. All meals served provide the nutritional value required and established by the Federal Guidelines.
The Food Program at the Boys & Girls Club operates year around. Every day we are open, a free hot nutritious meal is served. During the past 12 months, the Boys & Girls Club has provided over 24,000 meals and snacks to our members.
Some very upsetting statistics regarding childhood hunger are:
• 1 in every 5 children goes to bed hungry
• 16 million kids in the United States live in households that struggle to put food on the table
• 22% of kids in the United States under the age of 18 live in poverty
• A hungry child does not do well in school
• A child without proper nourishment is more likely to get sick
• They are less likely to graduate from high school and won’t even consider college
• The future shows them less likely to earn enough to feed their own family
• Improper food consumption can create obesity
• Lack of food can create emotional and behavioral issues
• They experience the lack energy to exercise
The Food Program at the Boys & Girls Club continues to be one of the most important programs offered. We feel sure that many of our boys and girls would go home to no food in the house and no means of getting any. Many of our members come to the Club from school and remain on the premises until we close at 8 pm. During their time at the Club, they are not only fed but they are required to participate in Power Hour, which is time spent preparing their homework for the next day.
It is unsettling that over 65% of our members are considered to be “at risk”, meaning that according to the federal guidelines, they are living in the poverty level. Many of our children come from a single parent household with a single wage earner and a couple of generations under the same roof.
We know, this program is by no means a luxury, but a necessity for many, especially those that need us the most.