Kids Cafe® Program On A Roll Thanks To New Thunderbird Charities Truck Fleet

Marking another step in the expansion process of St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance’s Kid’s Cafe® program, a fleet of three new refrigerated box trucks specifically dedicated to serving Arizona’s at-risk kids are ready to roll for the 2011-12 school year.

Purchased as part of a $250,000 capital campaign gift to Kids Cafe from Thunderbirds Charities, one of the three trucks made its maiden delivery to about 30 kids at Phoenix Youth at Risk (1001 E. Pierce Street, Phoenix) on Thursday, August 11. Thunderbirds “Big Chief” Michael McQuaid and Phoenix Youth At-Risk President and CEO Linda Lyman welcomed the truck along with St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance President and CEO Terry Shannon.
The three 2011 Chevy 4500 diesel trucks, purchased at cost from Sands Chevrolet, are equipped with a 14-foot Supreme Kold King Box and a Thermo King Model T-600 refrigerator unit and are more than twice the size of their now-retired predecessors. And the Kids Cafe program really needs them now that it has expanded to more than 50 sites for the 2011-12 school year – providing a secure, nurturing, educational environment for at-risk children who may not have a meal waiting for them at home.
During Fiscal Year 2010-11, more than 410,000 Kids Cafe meals were served to children five to 18 years of age.
Thank you, Thunderbirds Charities for your incredible donation and investment in the children of Arizona. Thank you, Phoenix Youth At-Risk for being such gracious hosts and all you do to mentor children. And thank you Sands Chevrolet, the new trucks look great!