Nutritional Meals on a Nonprofit Budget: Comparing the Costs of Food Supply Vendors for Boys and Girls Club Corenia Murphy, Masters of Public Administration · Mr. Kenneth Stone (Project Advisor) After-school programs offer approximately three hours of programming each day and typically provide snacks and drinks on site. Because snacks represent 24% of children's total daily energy intake and childhood dietary habits often carry over into adolescence and adulthood, the quality and types of snacks served at after-school programs deserve serious attention (Mozaffarian, Wiecha et al. 2010). The CAFCP (2015) issues minimum requirements for the types and amounts of food that must be included in each meal and snack qualifying for reimbursement. The requirements are specified in terms of four meal components (fluid milk; fruits, vegetables, and full-strength juices; bread and bread alternates; and, meat and meat alternate) and age group. A qualifying lunch or dinner must include all four components with two servings from the fruit- vegetable-juice group. Breakfast must include servings of all components except meat or meat alternates (a meat or meat alternate is recommended but not required). Qualifying snacks must include at least two of the four components (Crepinsek, Burstein et al. 2002). Increasing attention has been paid to the role of schools in promoting healthier diets in children as a result of the rise in overweight and obesity among young people worldwide. The school environment has the broad potential to impact on students' food choices and dietary quality Several environmental factors contribute to poor dietary habits during school time, such as lack of compliance with nutrition standards for lunch programs and easy access to foods of minimal nutrition value The Boys and Girls Club of Buffalo serves roughly 800 meals a week for their after school program and even more during summer programming. The agency is seeking cost-effective and nutritious options to comply with and possibly increase reimbursement under the US Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Food Care Program (CAFCP). The purpose of this study is to analyze CAFCP requirements, compare these requirements guiding Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo current lunches and snacks, analyze the current food served, and provide budgeting guidance with respect to vendor choice. Literature Review Introduction Crepinsek, M. K., et al. (2002). "Meals Offered by Tier 2 CACFP Family Child Care Providers: Effects of Lower Meal Reimbursements." USDA Economic Research Service, Electronic Publications from the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, E-FAN. Mozaffarian, R. S., et al. (2010). "Impact of an organizational intervention designed to improve snack and beverage quality in YMCA after-school programs." American Journal of Public Health 100(5): 925. USDA – CAFCP. (2015). Reimbursement Rate Charts, at rates. References Sampling This is a needs assessment, compliance, & budgeting study: 1.Compare and contrast CAFCP nutrition requirements with Boys & Girls Club lunches and snacks at five facilities in Buffalo. 2.Recommend a menu of lunches and snacks that meet CAFCP’s highest reimbursement rates. 3.Identify potential food vendors in Western New York. 4.Prepare estimates for #2 for each of the vendors. 5.Assess vendors in terms of reputation for service, food quality, etc. 6.Make recommendation to Boys & Girls Club in terms of vendor selection. Methodology Research Design -Food vendors available to Boys and Girls Club of Buffalo. Prices will be compared for components of healthy lunches and snacks. -Several Boys & Girls Club of Buffalo facilities to assess whether lunches and snacks meet CAFCP requirements. -CAFCP nutrition requirements