Crisis Nursery Awarded $40,000 Grant From Monsanto Fund

St. Louis, MO –The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery received a $40,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund for its Food and Nutrition (FAN) program.

With the Monsanto Fund grant, the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery’s FAN program will be able to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, ingredients for healthy meals, milk, and infant formula for 500 children receiving crisis care at the five Nursery locations each month. The program will also help stock the on-site food pantries at each location, making emergency nutritional support available to an additional 300 food insecure families each month.

“One in six St. Louis area children live in poverty, their families struggling to find their next meal,“ explained DiAnne Mueller, CEO of the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery. “Studies show that good nutrition is crucial in the first three years of life, and children who are food insecure are at a greater risk for poor health and quality of life. With the help of this generous Monsanto Fund grant, we will be able to assist many of those families and children and improve their outcomes.”

“The Monsanto Fund has been active in the fight against food insecurity by working with various organizations within St. Louis and globally to improve access to healthy, balanced and nutritional meals,” said Michelle Insco, Monsanto Fund Program Officer. “We are proud to support the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery in their efforts to work with families impacted by malnutrition.”

Each Nursery location has a vegetable garden in the yard where children, many for the first time, can see where fresh vegetables grow and help with weeding, watering, and picking. The Crisis Nursery staff uses these occasions to talk about making healthy food choices when possible. The Monsanto Fund grant will provide parents and children activities and educational material regarding proper nutrition, which can lead to healthier families and communities.

About the Crisis Nursery: The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery provides a 24-hour, 365 days/year safe haven for children, birth through age 12, whose families are facing a crisis. Parents bring children to the Nursery free of charge, on a voluntary basis where they receive a medical exam, therapeutic activities, nutritious meals and take-home necessities. Parents receive crisis counseling, in-home visits, parent educational groups and community outreach. In 32 years we have served over 114,000 children. For more details on the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery, please call 314-292-5770 or visit www.CrisisNurseryKids.org

About the Monsanto Fund: The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.