Explanation
Background: This ordinance will enable the Director of Recreation and Parks to accept a grant from the Ohio Department of Education in the amount of $2,609,950.00 and to appropriate these monies to the Recreation and Parks Grant Fund 286. These funds will provide for the operation of the 2010 Summer Food Service Program. This program will operate from June 7, 2010 through August 20, 2010. Through this program, we serve approximately 150,000 breakfast meals, 340,000 lunch meals and 25,000 snacks at 180 sites.
This is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sponsored program offered to Columbus Recreation and Parks Department (CRPD) through the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). As a sponsoring agency, the Recreation and Parks Department Summer Food Coordinator solicits other agencies, focusing on areas of need in and around the city, to act as sites for providing food services and determines their eligibility in the program. Each site can provide two of three meals (breakfast and lunch, or lunch and snack) to children ages 1 - 18, or of school-aged eligibility.
Free breakfast, lunch and snacks are available to all those meeting income eligibility, which is the same as the free school lunch program. Sites may also offer additional programming to Columbus youth in which they may participate (see attached 2009 site list).
CRPD has an ongoing partnership with Children's Hunger Alliance (CHA) to assist in targeting areas of need and potential sites. CHA also assists in advertising the available sites to the public via media releases, PSA's on local radio stations, interviews on the government access channel (CH 3), and articles in The Columbus Dispatch and area newspapers.
Emergency legislation is being requested so the contract for food services can be bid and in place in time for the operation of the 2010 program. The grant application was approved by the State of Ohio on March 5, 2010.
Fiscal Impact: $2,609,950.00 i...
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