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USDA Summer Food Service Program Provides Nutritious Meals for 967 Rochester Youth in MCC Summer Programs (06/27/2019)

Note: This is an ARCHIVED news release. Information in this article may have changed since this was published.

Horizons at MCC StudentsProgram ensures students stay focused on learning, don’t go hungry.

(Pictured right) Rochester City School District students, kindergarten through eighth grade participate in Horizons at MCC at the college's Downtown Campus.

This summer, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to serve more than 200 million free meals to children at approved Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites, including Monroe Community College. Thanks to a $164,747 USDA grant, participants in four MCC programs will receive nutritious meals between July 1 and Aug. 16, 2019.

Nearly 900 children who participate in Horizons at MCC and the Healthy Hero Summer Camp will receive free breakfast and lunch daily under the grant. Both programs put children on the path to academic and personal success while introducing them to a college experience. Thirty-five high school students participating in the Liberty Partnerships Program will receive free breakfast and lunch daily at the college’s Downtown Campus. Another 38 students, participants in MCC’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Residential Summer Institute at the Brighton Campus, will receive three meals per day made possible by the grant.

Horizons at MCC is a six-week summer enrichment program for low-income Rochester City School District (RCSD) students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Established in 2011, the program helps prevent summer learning loss by reinforcing reading, writing and math skills. Horizons at MCC is made possible by supporters of the Monroe Community College Foundation, Horizons National, and the RCSD. The program runs from July 8 through Aug. 16.

Now in its sixth year, the Healthy Hero Summer Camp helps children from Rochester schools stay physically and intellectually active. From July 1 to Aug. 2, the camp will educate 750 children in math and language arts and provide sessions on nutrition, character development, music, drug and alcohol avoidance, team building and decision-making. The camp is made possible with the generous support of the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, ESL Charitable Foundation, and Glover-Crask Charitable Trust in partnership with the MCC Foundation.

In its fifth year, the EOP Residential Summer Institute is a grant-funded program serving the needs of full-time MCC students who are academically and economically disadvantaged. Counseling and tutorial services along with instruction in technology, financial literacy, coping/survival skills and participation in a community-service project are provided to help students transition to college life. The institute is funded by the State University of New York (SUNY) in partnership with MCC and the MCC Association. The four-week program will run July 7 through Aug. 2.

The Liberty Partnerships Program will also benefit from the grant this year. The four-week program will run July 1 through July 26 and provide academic support, college exploration, and community service opportunities to high school students from the RCSD. The program is funded by SUNY in partnership with MCC.

Monroe Community College is an equal opportunity provider.

Media Contact:
Rosanna Yule
Government and Community Relations
585-292-3024
ryule@monroecc.edu