LAS VEGAS — Three Square Food Bank reports 112,000 kids in the community are living through food insecurity.
Every afternoon, children can find a place to relax and refuel at libraries across the valley through a program known as Kids Cafe.
“Five days a week, Monday through Friday after school, kids are able to come in and get a shelf-stable meal. All they have to do is sign in with their name. It is completely free. You just show up and we feed them,” said Jennifer Bell, West Las Vegas Library Youth Services Department Head.
Bell said they serve around 600 meals a month through the Kids Cafe, ensuring a nutritious snack to help fill the gap for youth living through food insecurity.
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Impact on child development
“Nutrition supports their overall health. It supports their cognitive development, as well as their overall growth. So when kids are hungry, they can’t focus and do well in school. And being able to provide meals like this is really an opportunity for them to continue to succeed,” said Sheena Skelton, Three Square Food Bank Nutrition Initiatives Manager.
“For a child to face food insecurity, those things can eventually affect all sorts of lifelong outcomes. They are at greater risk for not finishing high school. These are called adverse childhood experiences,” Bell said.
Bell said food insecurity affects families as a whole.
“No one’s immune to it. From kids up to adults to seniors, anyone at any given time, you know, most people are one paycheck away from having food insecurity, losing housing,” Bell said.
Kids as young as 3 all the way up to 18 can take advantage of the Kids Cafe.
Three Square’s research has found that kids between five and seven years old who live in food-insecure homes are three times as likely to experience stunted growth and development.
There are 10 libraries across the valley that offer the Kids Cafe program as well as other organizations.
You can learn more about Three Square’s Kids Cafe program here.
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