14Free Episode 8 - Newport City Summer Out-of-School Program

Episode 8 of 14Free highlights the Newport City Summer Out-of-School Program in Orleans County. The breakfast and lunch meals are provided by the local hospital which is an excellent to solution to providing meals for children when the school shuts down for the summer. The program that takes place at a local park and does not have the facilities to prepare meals. As a best practice for programs without kitchen facilities we, at Hunger Free Vermont, often encourage tapping into local institutions—such as hospitals or schools—as they have the capacity to prepare the meals. Such institutions can enroll in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) federal reimbursement programs to fund the meals provided to summer programs.

In a town that has very few child care options and a high low-income population, the summer program that the School Counselor and Out-of-School Program Director, Jeane Kadmiri, runs is essential to the health and well-being of children in her community. With sincere love, concern, and hope for the children in her program, Jeane offers enriching activities and consistent meals to over 110 children in Newport throughout the summer months. This program not only provides regular meals to kids who rely on school meals during the school year, but keeps them active, socializing, and engaged so that they do not fall behind their peers academically and are ready for school in the fall.