Fran's Healthy Helping and the Greater Chicago Food Depository Distribute Nutritious, Fun Meals to Needy Children in Pilsen

America's Second Harvest
Wednesday, 14 February 2001

One of Chicago's Poorest Neighborhoods

Fran's Healthy Helpings, of Burlingame, Calif., is making meal time nutritious and fun for needy children in Cook County. The manufacturer of healthy frozen meals for kids is donating more than 9,000 Fran's Kids Meals to the Greater Chicago Food Depository for distribution to the Food Depository's 590 member agencies.

The first delivery will occur on Feb. 14, when 30 children in the Kids Cafe at the Latin American Youth Center in Pilsen enjoy Fran's Lovey Dovey Patty Kids Meal at a Valentine's Day celebration. Fran's Lovey Dovey Patty Kids Meals feature a heart-shaped hamburger, baby carrots and heart-shaped pasta.

"This generous donation will provide the neediest children in Chicago with warm meals that are healthy as well as fun to eat," said Michael Mulqueen, executive director, Greater Chicago Food Depository.

"Making sure children have access to wholesome, nutritious food that they enjoy eating is at the foundation of Fran's Healthy Helpings," said Fran Lent, president, Fran's Healthy Helpings. "We are pleased to share these meals with the children in Chicago who really need them."

The Kids Cafe program is a national initiative of America's Second Harvest and administered locally by the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Established in 1993, Kids Cafes tackle the issues of childhood hunger by setting up after-school programs that provide hot meals, tutoring and other educational programs for children in an environment created to help children feel secure and eager to learn. In the heavily Hispanic neighborhood of Pilsen, one out of every four men, women and children lives below the poverty level. In addition to the Kids Cafe, the Latin American Youth Center, a unit of Catholic Charities of Chicago, offers many community outreach programs for adults, children and families.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository provides food for as many as 300,000 people in Cook County, one-third of whom are children. Food Depository member agencies currently coordinate eight Kids Cafe programs.

Fran's Healthy Helpings was founded in 1996 by Fran Lent with the objective of making healthy frozen meals for children. All of Fran's Healthy Helpings meals meet the FDA's definition of healthy, having low fat, low sodium, low cholesterol and higher nutritional content. Fran's meals are free from artificial preservatives, flavors, colors and MSG.

For more information, or to contact America's Second Harvest, see their website at: www.secondharvest.org