NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Kroger and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula have announced a partnership to support the East SMART program.
The program provides nutritionally balanced meals and snacks to kids and teens during their out of school time at the Clubs. The initiative is through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) through the United States Dept. of Agriculture.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula serves over 900 meals and snacks each day, and the partnership focuses on health and life skills, which is one of BGCVP’s five core program areas.
“We are thrilled that Kroger partnered with our Eat SMART program,” said Michele Benson, chief development officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula. “Last year alone, we provided over 345,000 meals and snacks to kids to ensure they have the nutrition they need to grow and develop physically and focus and learn mentally.”
This partnership was guided by Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative, a national effort aimed at ending hunger in the communities Kroger calls home and eliminating waste across the company by 2025.
“Our store count has almost doubled in the past year in Hampton Roads,” said Allison McGee, spokesperson for Kroger Mid-Atlantic. “With that growth, we’ve been able to get even more involved in the Hampton Roads community. Partnerships like this one are incredibly important to us and the fight we are taking against hunger.”
Click here to learn more about the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula.
