Healthy lifestyle promoted

The Star-Gazette reported on a recent event that offered children face painting, snacks, and books hosted at the Southside Community Center in Elmira.

The special event was mostly about a healthy lifestyle and fun stuff for the summer, said Jen Bertron, youth programs coordinator for the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

A number of different agencies offered activities for the children, such as Eat Well Play Hard, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Tanglewood Nature Center's Nature Rangers and the Bright Red Bookshelf, she said.

The event helped kick off the food bank's Summer Food Service Program, a federally reimbursed program that involves a number of sponsors, such as school districts, non-profit agencies and municipalities, Bertron said.

The program provides meals to children during the summer break when school is not in session. In 2008, the food bank sponsored the program at 18 sites in Chemung, Steuben and Tioga counties, serving 1,080 children. Read more here.