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Free to Be Me Summer Tour returns to fight stigma around food insecurity, mental health

Centre Daily Times - 6/12/2022

Jun. 12—PHILIPSBURG — The Travelin' Table bus was stationed at Cold Stream Dam Recreation Area on Friday afternoon, inviting kids to try new, healthy foods between a series of games and activities geared toward families.

It's part of the Free to Be Me Summer Tour, a collaboration between the YMCA of Centre County and the Jana Marie Foundation, in an effort to fight hunger and bring awareness to mental health. Organizers expect the bus will help feed up to 1,500 children this summer, during a time when the expiration of federal waivers for summer meal sites is expected to have an impact across the county.

The Free to Be Me Tour will be at Cold Stream Dam in Philipsburg on Mondays and Fridays this summer from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Although Free to Be Me is an anti-hunger program, it feels more like a neighborhood party. Marisa Vicere, founder of the Jana Marie Foundation, said that's the point.

"The great thing about the Free to Be Me program is that just like a community picnic," Vicere said. "Just come out and spend time with your friends, your family, your neighbors. You can have food, you can do the activities, but really it's that feeling of a picnic."

The program focuses on introducing healthy habits, both physically and mentally, by providing meals, taste tests and outdoor activities. Hunger has a direct impact on the mental health of children and their parents, Mel Curtis, director of anti-hunger programs at the YMCA, said.

"A lot of these kids that are acting out and things like that, and a lot of cases what you don't realize is that if you take that child and you give that child food, it's a completely different child," Curtis said. "He's trying to get attention because he's hungry."

Will Kuhns, a junior studying nutrition at Penn State, is interning with the anti-hunger program this summer and is focused on introducing children to healthy foods early on. On Friday, children were encouraged to try different fruits and vegetables, including apricots, zucchini and pomegranate seeds.

"Fruits, vegetables, adequate protein, it all helps their development," Kuhns said. "It's really important that they get the intake that they need for the right path for growth and development."

For Heather Smith, who brought her three nieces and nephews last year, the social benefits are what keep them coming back to the Free To Be Me program.

"This is very interactive, they get to be with kids in the community and interact with kids they've never met through school," Smith said.

Curtis said the hardest part for families is asking for help and understanding the resources available to them.

"Unfortunately, when you do stuff like this, you've got to really get people to build up trust," Curtis said. "A lot of people may be uncomfortable coming out to where there's free food. They don't want their neighbors to think that they can't take care of their families. So there's a big mystery of hunger and it's really misunderstood."

Updates on locations, events and additional days will be posted on the YMCA's Anti-Hunger Facebook page.

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