Philadelphia, PA – June 18, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — This Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (PHA) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) will offer comprehensive summer youth enrichment activities in addition to breakfast and lunch for needy children this year.
The program begins on Monday, June 23 and runs until Friday, August 22. SFSP will be held at 20 PHA sites throughout the City and provide 35 part-time jobs for PHA clients and local residents. Hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
PHA is one of several large sponsors of the program in the City, which provides breakfast and lunch to youth. During the summer of 2013, the program served well over 43,000 healthy meals to children ages 3 to 18 from public housing sites and the surrounding neighborhoods.
“The Summer Food Service Program is a necessity for families in Philadelphia, in part, because it takes the place of the school lunch program,” said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah. “We believe it’s important that our young people have access to good, nutritional meals that are critical for healthy growth and development. No child should ever have to go hungry in this City; and that is why PHA is pleased to sponsor this program by contribution over $200,000 of its own funds to this effort.”
Philadelphia has a poverty rate of 26.9 percent according to the Census Bureau and the City remains the poorest among the ten largest in America. Over 36 percent of children in the City are living in poverty. Just over 26 percent of households in Philadelphia participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Programs such as PHA’s Summer Food Service Program are essential especially since Congress reduced SNAP funding last October.
This year, PHA’s Summer Food Service Program will operate at the following 20 sites:
1. Abbottsford Homes 11. Morton Homes
2. Arch Homes 12. Norris Apartments
3. Bartram Village 13. Oxford Village
4. Blumberg Apartments 14. Paschall Village
5. Champlost Homes 15. Raymond Rosen Manor
6. Fairhill Apartments 16. John F. Street Community Center
7. Haddington Homes 17. Spring Garden Apartments
8. Harrison Plaza 18. West Park Apartments
9. Hill Creek Apartments 19. Whitehall Apartments
10. Johnson Homes 20. Wilson Park
Children who do not live at a participating PHA site can still go to a neighboring site or one of 150 sites operated by the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which will offer similar meals.
SFSP is a reimbursement-based grant program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, through Pennsylvania’s Department of Education. The intent of this program is to provide free breakfast, lunch, and/or snacks to children 18-years-old and under. For more information about participating in PHA’s Summer Food Service Program, call 215-684-3959.
