News
September 10, 2015SICM’s Summer Food Service Program Increases 15%
The final tallies are in for the 21st year of SICM’s Summer Food Services (SFS) Program, and, thanks to many, it was a record-breaking summer:
Number of lunches served at fixed sites: 52,876 — 35 sites
Number of lunches served at mobile sites: 22,351 — 15 sites (up 59.3%)
TOTAL NUMBER OF LUNCHES SERVED: 75,227 (up from 65,223 in 2014, or 15%)
The SICM free summer food service program feeds children throughout Schenectady when school is out. Lunches are served at locations specifically targeted to reach the largest number of at-risk children. The NY State Education Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture fund SICM’s summer lunch program, with additional support from United Way of the Greater Capital Region, the City of Schenectady’s Community Development Block Grant program, and the Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church this year.
Meals were available to youth 18 and under. Last year an average of 1500 kids each day received lunch; this year we averaged 1535 per day over 10 weeks. The most lunches we served in one day was 2,241 on July 29, 2015!
“What made the biggest difference this summer was the visibility of the new Mobile Meal Vehicles,” said Rev. Phillip N. Grigsby, SICM Executive Director. “It was a 60% increase. With support from the Wright Family Foundation, Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Carlilian Foundation, and the United Way of the Greater Capital District, we were able to get these visible vehicles designed for the task.”
Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SICM) is a coalition of 50 congregations founded in 1967 for joint programs of social service and social justice. SICM runs a host of programs serving the city and county of Schenectady, including the SICM Food Program and pantry, the Schenectady Damien Center, Schenectady County Embraces Diversity, Summer Youth Lunch and others.
For further information, contact Rev. Phillip Grigsby, Executive Director, at SICM, at 518.374.2683 or email revphil @sicm.us.
