A
Child's Portion, in operation
for over ten years, is a privately
funded nutrition assistance program that
bridges the gap between government assistance
programs for low-income preschoolers and
school-based nutrition programs by providing
monthly "care
packages" of nutritious food to low-income
children, up until they enter 1st grade,
who are at risk of hunger, but not eligible
for other food assistance.
Commodity Supplemental Food Program for
children provides staple government
commodities and nutritious donated foods such
as fresh produce for over 500 low-income preschool
children in Sonoma County.
Snacks for Kids serves
healthy snacks to low-income children at 16
after-school programs located throughout in
Sonoma County.
Every Child, Every Day-Summer Hunger Initiative makes
it possible for thousands of Sonoma County
low-income children who rely on free and reduced-price
school lunches for a major portion of their
nutrition during the school year to have nutritious
free lunches when school closes for summer
vacation. In the summer of 2007, the REFB opened 37 locations where children received nutritious lunches.
The
Backpack Program sends
low-income school children home from school
on Friday afternoons with a nutricious,
kid-friendly bag of groceries for the
weekend.
Megan Furth Harvest Pantry, the
REFB's newest program, was established to respond
to the high rate of anemia among Sonoma County
's low-income preschool children. This mobile "farmer's
market" provides nutritious, iron rich food,
especially fresh fruit and vegetables, to families
with young children in targeted neighborhoods
where high anemia rates have been found.