Kid-e-Cafe

Harvest Hope Food Bank

Application

STEP 1: Find out if your site meets basic Kids Cafe criteria

There are a few basic qualifications for becoming a Kids Cafe that must be met before your site can be considered further:

  • You must operate (or plan to operate) an after school program that serves children who attend at least one school with a free/reduced lunch eligibility rate of greater than 50%.

Find free/reduced lunch eligibility data on the South Carolina Department of Education Web site

  • You must be able to demonstrate that the children enrolled (or will enroll) in your program are at-risk for hunger or food insecurity. In other words, you should be able to demonstrate that the children you serve (will serve) are in real need of the meal services that you will provide (see planning guide and application materials for more information).
  • Your after school program CANNOT charge any children or their families any fees associated with food preparation or distribution. Some after-school programs may charge a membership fee for participation. This fee should be nominal with opportunities for scholarships or waivers for those unable to pay. This membership fee should not be tied in any way to the meals. Meals or food must be provided free of charge.
  • Your program must not exclude children based on race or religion.
  • You must have or obtain written approval from the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to prepare and serve food.
  • A minimum of one staff or volunteer handling food including preparation or service must have a safe food handler's certification or must participate in a brief food safety training.
  • You must be able to demonstrate that your program is sustainable.
  • Your program must plan to serve healthy, nutritious meals to children free of charge a minimum of twenty-six weeks per year (at least one meal per week).

  • Your organization must have (or obtain) a 501(c)3 status or evidence of being an incorporated church or temple.

  • You must conduct National Background Search on staff and volunteers with direct repetitive contact with children.

  • Your program must have an adult to child ratio of a minimum of 2 adults for the first 25 children at all times that the Kids Cafe program is operational. If there are greater than 25 children, the number of additional adults will be determined by both Harvest Hope and your program's administration.

  • Your program must agree to offer enrichment activities as follows: Nutrition Education a minimum of once per month or nine lessons a year; academic and/or recreational activity each day the Kids Cafe is open.

If these requirements seem feasible for your organization, please click below to complete the brief pre-application form. We will review your information and contact you about proceeding to Step 2.

Click here to complete pre-application

 

STEP 2: Complete full application

If we have contacted you and recommended that you proceed to Step 2, or if you just want to glance over the rest of the application process, click below. However, if you have not been contacted about the information you submitted in Step 1, we recommend against starting the application materials in Step 2. Your time is important, and we don't want to waste it!

Click here to proceed to Step 2

 

Return to Harvest Hope's main page