Every day after school, hundreds of children of all ages go to the Gleason Family YMCA. Some play basketball, some swim, and some spend their time at any of the many activities available there. Though most of the kids there are busy having fun, some are going hungry.

YMCA member Dennis Pucello and others are trying to change the “going hungry” part of the kids’ experience.

“I heard that some of the kids at the gym were pooling their pennies to get a taco from Taco Bell—and sometimes it’s like six bucks for the taco,” said Pucello, who is from Rochester. “They haven’t had much to eat. They don’t eat well and they don’t have a lot of money. Sometimes they don’t eat at all.”

After speaking with some people at the Y and doing some fundraising, Pucello was able to put together a program in conjunction with the Y to help some of the kids get a bite to eat while also teaching them to prepare the food themselves. So far, they’ve had about 12 kids sign a contract which requires that participants help out with the weekly meal and that they conduct themselves in a mannerly fashion.

Pucello, a retired Human Resource Director with the Navy, and Youth and Teen Director Chase Marr of the Y started the Crock Pot Cooking Healthy Eating Program about five weeks ago. Held every Wednesday after school, they say it's been a success.

“On Tuesdays, I’ve had some of the kids coming up to me, like, ‘Chase, are we going to be cooking again tomorrow?” said Marr, who assists Pucello in the process of making the meals with the mostly middle school and high school students. “They keep coming down to my office. They’re just really hungry.”

That involves prep-work, following recipes, and putting the ingredients acquired through donations by Pucello into two crock pots. The kids are then allowed to go off and have fun, and usually by 6 p.m. or so, dinner is served to all those who are willing to lend a hand and sign the contract.

“Crock pot cooking isn’t really cooking—it’s introducing them to cooking,” said Pucello, noting that they have limited time so the crockpots are set on high. “I teach them how to prepare food, how to set a table . . . things like that. And they have to help.”

There’s also a strict no cellphone policy at the dinner table.

“Either they turn it off or park it somewhere else,” said Pucello, who also volunteers his time cooking on Thursdays at the Rochester Senior Center.

He said the program wouldn’t be possible without the donations from several local businesses and groups including Stop and Shop, Shaw’s, Market Basket, Walmart, Tabor Academy, the Rochester Lions Club, and Mazzilli’s Farm Stand.

“I give the donors a lot of credit,” said Pucello. “Without their contributions, this wouldn’t happen.”

Pucello said that one of the challenges is getting the kids to eat vegetables.

“They like meat,” he said, “but I try to hide the vegetables with a lot of cheeses and sauces and things like that. Some will say, ‘I don’t like broccoli, etc.,’ but I look at their plates at the end and it’s all gone.”

“It’s fun,” said Noah Wicker, 13, a Wareham Middle School student who attends the YMCA regularly after school. “Some of the other kids like it because they get to eat, but I think it’s cool because I enjoy cooking.”

So far, the group has enjoyed meals such as chicken jambalaya, broccoli casserole, vegetable lasagna, chicken and pasta, and pulled pork.

“I liked everything,” said Terance Newell, 16, a Wareham High student who is participating in the program. "Everything!"

With all the success of the program, though, Pucello said he needs donations from the community to keep it going. The goal is to make a meal that costs around $3 per person to make, he said, and all the meals are made up entirely off the donations.

“It doesn’t take a lot—in all, it’s about $100 a month, but we have fixed expenses,” he said. “Just to get a kitchen going, I’ve been very frugal. I buy things at the Dollar Store, Salvation Army. But it works out quite well.”

“It helps because it shows the kids that you don’t have to go to Taco Bell to get a cheap meal,” added Marr.

Pucello and Marr's long-term goal is to get the program going at other YMCAs, but for now, they’re focused on keeping the Wareham program going.

“This has a chance to be even more successful,” said Marr.