FRANKLIN
The Cover 3 Foundation reached a new milestone on Nov. 28, having officially served 2.5 million healthy meals and snacks to Virginia children since its start in 2010. According to Greg Scott, the nonprofit’s founder, Cover 3 learned of its latest milestone after submitting its latest monthly meal claim to the Virginia Department of Health.

“It is extremely gratifying to know that 2.5 million meals have been served through our mission,” Scott said. “I’m completely ecstatic.”

All meals are prepared daily at Cover 3’s headquarters in Franklin and distributed the next day via the Foundation’s C3 Kids Meals Program. Each meal includes a half pint of milk, a meat or meat alternate and two fruits or vegetables. Snacks include two major food groups, usually a fruit or 100 percent juice box and a grain, such as a bag of sun chips.

“Any snacks we serve are the healthiest versions of those snacks because we have to meet Virginia Department of Health standards,” Scott explained.

The C3 Kids Meals Program distributes the meals and snacks to children across the South Hampton Roads and Central Virginia regions  who are enrolled in after-school programs, and during the summer when schools are not in session. Defeating childhood hunger has become a major goal of the Cover 3 Foundation.

Cities served include Franklin, Emporia, Richmond, Petersburg, Suffolk, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Newport News, as well as the counties of Southampton, Greensville, Sussex and Henrico.

Scott is a retired National Football League player and alumnus of Southampton High School. He graduated SHS in 1998 and retired from the NFL in 2007 after playing for the Washington Redskins and the Cincinnati Bengals.

More information on the Cover 3 Foundation and its programs can be found on its website, www.cover3foundation.org or by calling 562-2252.