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Commission approves 2026–27 meeting dates; Director outlines summer food program and new prevention grants
Summary
The Old Saybrook Youth and Family Commission approved its 2026–27 meeting calendar and heard staff reports on a summer 'Kids lunch' distribution, year-round food bag program, and roughly $23,000 in recent prevention grant awards and applications.
The Old Saybrook Youth and Family Commission voted to approve its meeting calendar for fall 2026 through June 2027 and heard staff updates on summer food supports and several recent prevention grants.
During the Director’s report, staff described two summer food efforts. A program called “Kids lunch” will serve meals from an Acton Library site on eight days in July, beginning Tuesday, July 7; the Director said the program’s session dates include July 7–8 and conclude July 28–29. The Youth & Family office also offers year-round “kids food bags” for families, with options for gluten-free or allergen-free bags; the Director said flyers will be distributed to schools in English and Spanish.
Commissioners asked about the multilingual share of students in town; staff provided an estimate of about 16% multilingual students.
The commission also reviewed recent and pending prevention grants. Staff reported a two-year $10,000 grant for nicotine-prevention work, a $5,000 grant application for gambling/gaming prevention, and an additional two-year grant of about $7,000 — totaling roughly $23,000 in recent awards compared with about $3,700 in prior year grant funding. The Director framed the grant activity as part of efforts to diversify revenue streams for programming and clinical services.
On procedural business, members approved the proposed commission meeting dates for 2026–27 after a motion, with one member participating remotely. Earlier in the meeting the commission also moved to approve the minutes of May 5.
Members discussed recent community events, including a May 16 seminar called “Thrive Where You Live” that featured participation from police and fire, and plans to hold three shorter seminars over the summer. A commission member reported the town’s medication drop box is regularly filling; training for the youth diversion team and police cooperation (Officer Costic) were highlighted.
A motion to adjourn was seconded and carried; the meeting ended at 5:43 p.m.
