LITTLE ROCK — A $2.1 million grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation will provide nearly 5 million meals to qualified children over the next two years, officials said Monday.
The grant is part of the Bentonville-based retailer's recently-announced $2 billion effort to end hunger.
The funds were given to the National Recreation and Park Association, which divide them into 15 smaller grants for summer feeding programs across the country this summer and next year. In 2010, the money will go to park and recreation programs in Albuquerque, N.M., Atlanta, Ga., Austin, Tx., Bakersfield, Calif., Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Greenville, S.C., Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Montgomery, Ala., Portland, Ore., San Diego, St. Petersburg, Fla., Washington, D.C., and Wichita, Kan.
The funds will provide nearly 112,000 meals each day to qualified children or 4.9 million meals in all, officials said.
“Park and recreation agencies are at the front line in the fight to build and maintain healthy communities,” National Recreation and Park Association CEO Barbara Tulipane said in a news release. “The generous gift from the Wal-mart Foundation will help our local champions provide nutritious meals for millions of children and support the development of a healthy, connected and active generation of Americans.”