Bay Area Food Bank provides free summer meals for kids
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – June 1
Bay Area Food Bank is partnering with local community organizations to offer free meals to children across southwest Alabama this summer through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The program is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture and is designed to fill the nutritional gap left when children are out of school during summer months and do not have access to free or reduced price meals. “Schools do a great job providing healthy meals during the school year, but often lack the funds to operate summer programs. We’re working to increase access across the area,” said Bay Area Food Bank’s Executive Director, Dave Reaney. “All children aged 18 and under are eligible, but this is a great way to help struggling families ensure their child gets free meals during the week,” Reaney continued. Alabama has been selected as a targeted state by the USDA due to the extremely high need, yet low participation rate. Last summer, Bay Area Food Bank served nearly 6,500 children in Alabama and over 9,100 children across the Central Gulf Coast at area churches, schools, parks and community centers. That number is expected to grow as the program continues to expand. The food bank has also partnered with The University of Alabama and Auburn University to reach even more children throughout the state of Alabama.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 1
Avoid falling into the app-fatigue trap
Mobile Marketer – June 1
Are people using applications more, or less? Are consumers getting app fatigue or downloading more apps? Yes and yes. According to comScore, time spent in mobile apps increased by more than 50 percent year over year. And the University of Alabama predicts app revenue will more than double to $25 billion by 2016. At the same time, only 35 percent of smartphone users are downloading new apps and Forrester Research claims that 80 percent of consumers’ app time is spent on just five apps. The takeaway? Apps are not going away, but users are demanding more value from them. You cannot afford to ignore apps, but you also cannot afford to make crappy ones. What apps do consumers use on their personal devices? Facebook, weather, email, a news app and whatever messaging app their wives or husbands are on. Why? All those apps are vital to their lives. How can yours be just as vital?