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Ely Chapman Foundation gets grant to provide fresh fruits, vegetables to kids

The Ely Chapman Education Foundation, a United Way Agency, has received a $2,500 grant from the CSX Beyond the Rails Foundation. According to ECEF Founder and Chair Alice Chapman, the grant will be used to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to the meals served to all students enrolled in preschool and after-school programs.

“Exposure to healthy foods at an early age is critical in developing lifelong healthy eating habits. We will use these funds to purchase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible to supplement the meals that students are provided daily.”

Chapman added that ECEF operates the Living Rivers Cafe’, a full-service cafeteria that is licensed by the Department of Agriculture, as vendor of meat, poultry, and food safety.

“The Living Rivers Cafe’ serves over 20,000 meals annually to students attending both the ECEF and Marietta Area YMCA summer camps, and another 7,900 meals annually for the students attending our after-school programs since each child receives a full meal immediately after school. Six hundred meals are served annually to the E.P.I.C. preschool students.”

“This grant will allow us to add to our nutritional meal and snacks options and will allow children to experience a variety of new and healthy food, available right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley,” said Chapman. The Living Rivers Cafe’ is approved by the U.S. Department of Education for the Child and Adult Care Food Program and is an open site for the Department of Education Summer Food Service Program, feeding any child ages 1 to 18 a free hot meal from June to mid-August.

The cafeteria vends to the O’Neill Adult Day Care Program, and is open to the public five days a week.

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