Explanation
This ordinance will authorize the appropriation and the transfer of $50,000 from the Neighborhood Initiatives Fund for operating expenses related to the Summer Food Program.
The Summer Food Service Program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Ohio Department of Education. The program provides nutritionally balanced breakfasts, lunches and snacks to qualified children in need during the summer months. The program is expected to serve approximately 190,000 breakfast meals, 340,000 lunch meals and 110,000 snacks to Columbus children this summer. The funding proposed by this ordinance will help increase participation of eligible youth during the summer.
Eighty percent of Columbus children qualify and take advantage of free or reduced priced lunches during the school year, but only about 13 percent use the summer food sites. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department has requested funding to expand the summer food program in areas of need throughout the city, targeting neighborhoods that lack summer options for children. The funding will allow Recreation and Parks to hire additional staff and expand the program to 14 school sites.
Operating 14 summer meal sites for nine weeks, Monday through Friday, and presupposing an average daily attendance at each site of 50 children, we can expect total reimbursements of $113,006.25, representing a return of $2.26 for every one dollar allocated by Columbus City Council for the 14 summer meal sites.
Emergency legislation is required so that the contract can be in place for the beginning of this program on June 1, 2015.
Fiscal Impact
Funding for this ordinance is made available from the city's Jobs Growth Fund 015 for transfer to the Neighborhood Initiatives Fund 018 for transfer to the Columbus Recreation and Parks Fund.
Title
To authorize the City Auditor to appropriate and transfer $50,000.00 between the Jobs Growth Fund and the Neighborhood Initiatives Fund; to authorize the City ...
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