August 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 30

USDA, but the city's general funds are used to fund
the rest of the camp's activities. Remarkably, the
city has kept the cost to parents down to $170 for
an 8-week camp session. Further discounts are
available for families with multiple children, and
a limited number of scholarships are available.
The County of Greenville also maintains approximately 55 open sites across the county at locations including churches, apartment complexes,
and daycare centers.
However, there haven't been enough funds to
cover education for a healthy lifestyle, which is why
Jan Cox, Community Programs Manager for Parks
and Recreation is elated that Greenville is one of 15
Park and Recreation communities this year to benefit and share a recent $2.1 million grant from the
Walmart Foundation with the goal for increasing the
number of meals served and improving health and
nutrition of participating children and their families.
" Up until now, we have not been able to incorporate any nutritional education into our food service
programs. Hopefully with these funds and our local
coalition, Healthy Kids Healthy Greenville, education and healthy nutritional foods will be available
for children in the area, " Cox said. Education on
providing well-balanced meals is important as a
tool to families who may be making poor nutritional
decisions at home, which is at the root of the country's rising obesity epidemic. Somewhat paradoxically, obesity and food insecurity issues are closely
linked; parents in impoverished communities often

28	 Parks & Recreation

SEPTEMBER 2010

www.NRPA .ORG

lack access to nutritious foods and therefore feed
their children excessive quantities of high-calorie
foods that lack nutritional value.
All of this is why the Walmart Foundation's five-year
" Fighting Hunger Together " initiative is so encouraging to combating the war against hunger. The initiative also includes the donation of more than 1.1 billion
pounds of food from Walmart stores, distribution centers and Sam's Club locations, along with a total of $250
million in grants to support hunger relief organizations
at the national, state and local level. " By working together, we believe we can reach a day when no individual in this country has to go to bed hungry or worry
if there will be food to put on the table tomorrow, " says
Walmart Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright.
The 2.1 million gift from the Walmart Foundation
enables NRPA to provide direct support of summer
and before/after school food programs in approximately 30 communities over two years, " says Jimmy O'Connor, NRPA's senior manager of corporate
grants. " In some cases, these grant funds have enabled communities to sustain their food service programs during the current economic decline, while
other agencies have been able to enhance their
community's program to include creative additions,
such as weekly fruit and vegetable tastings (many
kids in Indianapolis recently tasted a peach for the
very first time). "
In Oregon, the Portland Parks and Recreation
department-another recipient of NRPA funds
made possible by the Walmart Foundation-has
August 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2010 - Parks & Recreation
