Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester Honored at the Food Bank for Westchester's 9th Annual Hunger Heroes Awards Breakfast

Club receives 2014 Service Provider Award for healthy food programs

Nearly 200 members of the community, staff, volunteers, corporate donors and service providers celebrated The Food Bank for Westchester’s 9th annual Hunger Heroes awards at the Tappan Hill Mansion this month, recognizing select organizations and individuals for their outstanding efforts to end hunger. The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (BGCNW) was among those honored, receiving the 2014 Service Provider Hunger Heroes Award for integrating three key food programs for its youth members.

Brian Skanes, executive director of the BGCNW, accepted the award on behalf of the Club.

“I share this award with the Junior League of Northern Westchester,” Skanes said.  “We have a tremendous relationship dating back many, many years.”

With the help of the Junior League of Northern Westchester, The Food Bank for Westchester, and generous donors, the Club is able to operate three nutritious food programs in an effort to eliminate food insecurity: The Backpack program, The Food Bank for Westchester Kraft Mobile Food Pantry, and Kids Café.

The BGCNW, located in Mount Kisco, serves 1,700 youth annually – 80 percent of which are eligible for free or reduced school lunch. To meet the need for a quality meal program outside school walls, Skanes embarked on a year-long effort to raise money to install an industrial kitchen at the Club. Today, an average of 200 children per day and as many as 350 daily during the summer months are fed through Kids Café.

The BGCNW has also implemented the Backpack program, which provides children with easy-to-prepare food on weekends. Skanes’ focus on quality food programs later extended to the entire community in 2013, when the Food Bank’s Kraft Mobile Food Pantry began distributing fresh food to the Club’s community residents. Currently, more than 80 families are assisted by the mobile pantry.

“Brian recognized the importance of consistent high-quality meal programs for the children in his care,” said former Junior League of Northern Westchester President Danae Richards, who presented Skanes with the service provider award. “With Brian’s efforts to address the hunger issue and crusading for the reduction of childhood obesity, the Boys & Girls Club has truly transformed the health and well-being of its Club’s members and the community.”

According to Ellen Lynch, executive director of The Food Bank for Westchester, 33 percent of those who are hungry or at risk of being hungry are children.

“I think about when this started,” Skanes said. “There were several hundred kids coming to the Club every day and not getting home until 8 o’clock at night, who weren’t eating. Our board of directors committed themselves to raising money to build a kitchen and it grew from there.”

“I really appreciate this award and on behalf of the club – thank you,” Skanes said.

The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester is located at 351 Main Street, Mt. Kisco, NY and can be reached at 914-666-8069 or by visitingwww.bgcnw.com. For the latest news, photos and updates, please "like" the Club on www.facebook.com/BGCNW and follow onwww.twitter.com/BGCNW.

About the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester

Celebrating its 75th year,  the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester remains dedicated to its mission to inspire and enable young people, especially those who need it most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. A non-profit organization established in 1939, the Club has served more than 100,000 youth and welcomed nearly 10,000 volunteers, staff and board members over the years. Located in Mt. Kisco, NY, the Club’s 36,000-square-foot facility features an eight-lane pool, Child Care Center, gymnasium, game room and two computer labs, and an additional 1,600-foot Teen Center facility. The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester currently serves 1,700 boys and girls ages 6 months to 18 years, from more than 60 Northern Westchester communities. The Club has been ranked among the outstanding Clubs in the national network of Boys & Girls Clubs of America.