May is CalFresh Awareness month, an effort through the Los Angeles County Department of Social Ser-vices to increase access and participation in CalFresh enrollment, reduce hunger and promote good nutrition. CalFresh is the state’s food assistance program for low-income families, and its purpose is to promote and safeguard the health and well-being of these households by increasing their food pur-chasing power and raising their levels of nutrition. According to a study done by No Kid Hungry, 1 in 5 kids in America are living in households without consistent access to enough food, resulting in “food insecurity,” which is a lack of reliable and nutritious food. Hungry kids are often less focused, ill more frequently, at an unhealthy weight, and/or may have more discipline issues. The CalFresh program greatly benefits in helping to eliminate the threat of food insecurity, however many families still do not know that the program exists. According to data provided by the California Department of Social Ser-vices, there are approximately 599,000 potentially eligible Los Angeles County residents who struggle with food insecurity, and are not currently participating in the CalFresh Nutrition Program.

The Caring Connections motto states, “Healthy Kids Learn Better,” and we know that it is imperative that children have access to healthy nutritious food. BUSD family sup-port staff help many families who need assistance, and are working to help them discover resources in the community, such as CalFresh, to help eliminate food insecurities in Bellflower Unified.

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CalFresh Awareness Month

SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF BELLFLOWER AND LAKEWOOD SINCE 1992

Caring Connections Mission Statement:

Our commitment is to be a bridge to a healthy and

successful future for chil-dren and families

of the Bellflower Unified School District

2018-2019 Executive Board

Members

Nichole McGahey Encounter Christian Church

Doug Easer Rotary Club of Bellflower

Jeanette Gosden Consultant

Pastor Tomas M. Ivens Ethnos Community Church

Victor Sanchez Kiwanis Club of Bellflower

Chrissy Padilla Birkey Kingdom Causes

Tia Ewing Bellflower Unified

John J. Gunther

Blue Ribbon Practices in

Community Development Award

Association of California School Administrators Part-

ners in Education Excellence

Award

Greater LA Federal Execu-

tive Board Partnership Award

California School Boards Association Golden Bell

Award for Partnerships &

Collaboratives

Caring Connections is a non- profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to serving the needs of children and families of the Bellflower Unified School District.

For more information contact Caring Connections at (562) 866-9011 ext. 2058

City of Bellflower Spring Basket Program

Michelle Navarro, from the Bellflower Volunteer Center, put together 455 Easter baskets for children in the Bellflower community. With the help of volunteers she made sure every child’s basket was tailored according to age and gender.

Caring Connections helped with the purchase of books through the Feed the Children organization. Thank you to those who donated, to help this program be successful and put a smile on a child’s face!

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C A R I N G C O N N E C T I O N S

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Special thanks to Doug Easer and the Bellflower Rotary for the generous donation of refreshments at this month’s meeting.

The next Caring Connections meeting is Tuesday June 4, 2019

Updates and Events

The BUSD preschool office is accepting applications for the 2019-2020 school year. Children who turn 3 or 4 years of age by September 1, 2019 are encour-aged to apply. Early childhood educa-tion helps build a strong foundation for children and gets them Kindergarten ready. Fee based options and Dual-Immersion programs are also available to families. For more information, or to register, please call (562) 466-2227.

Bellflower Unified School District

Kindergarten Registration

BUSD Kindergarten enrollment is now taking place for the following programs:

Kindergarten (for students turn-ing 5 on or before September 1, 2019)

Transitional Kindergarten (for students with a birth date of September 2, 2014)through De-cember 2, 2014)

Jump Start Kindergarten (for students with a birthdate of De-cember 3, 2014 through Febru-ary 4, 2015)

All registration will continue through June 19, 2019. For questions regard-ing Kindergarten enrollment, please visit www.busd.k12.ca.us.

When you shop at smile.amazon.com and select Community Agencies for Caring Connections as your charitable organization, Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible items to Caring Con-nections. So don’t forget, to choose AmazonSmile the next time you shop online.

Community Events

Vegan Beauty Tips for Teens at the Brakensiek Library On Saturday, May 28th, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. teens from the age of 12-18 can learn some essential plant-based foods to incorporate into their diet to stay looking and feeling healthy. For more information, please call (562) 925-5543.

Bellflower’s Day of the SHRED On Saturday, June 8h, from 8:00-11:00 a.m., a shred-it truck will be on site to provide FREE shredding for Bellflower residents in the Simms

Park parking lot. Bring any personal documents to be securely destroyed and recycled. For more information, please call Simms Park at

(562) 866-7510.

Summer Meals Program Many children in California are on the free and reduced lunch program at their school. However, during the summer months, these same children miss the breakfast and/or lunch meals that are provided for them at school. Having kids at home over the summer without access to school meals can add as much as $300 to a family’s monthly food bill. The Summer Meal Program is a USDA federally-funded child nutrition program designed to provide free meals for youth when school is not in session. Families who have children under the age of 18 and are looking for free summer food locations in their area can text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 877-877. Locations are open to chil-dren 18 and under only. For resources to help promote summer meals, please visit: www.bestpractices.nokidhungry.org/summer-meals/outreach-materials

Bellflower Unified School District Early Childhood Education

State Preschool Registration