Children’s Hunger Alliance Supports School Breakfast Expansion with Grants
Schools will leverage $50K in grants funded by the Walmart Foundation to introduce breakfast in the classroom and grab-and-go breakfast service options to ensure food-insecure kids have better access
COLUMBUS, OH (March 17, 2017) – Children’s Hunger Alliance, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in Ohio, today announced it has awarded more than $50K in grants during the first quarter of the year to help schools throughout the state expand access to breakfast for students. The funding was made possible from a $1.5 million Walmart Foundation grant that was awarded to the non-profit at the end of 2016.
“Our goal is to partner with schools that have a high percentage of low-income families, and help increase the number of children who can enjoy breakfast,” explained Judy Mobley, Interim CEO at Children’s Hunger Alliance. “We understand that schools have limited budgets, so we are grateful to the Walmart Foundation for providing the funding needed to implement new ways to reach students. At the end of the day, students win because starting the day with breakfast sets them up to be more focused and more likely to succeed in the classroom.”
Children’s Hunger Alliance team members work alongside school personnel to implement proven ways to increase breakfast participation. One popular option at elementary schools is to allow breakfast in the classroom. School administrators have seen their breakfast participation triple at some locations when students have the option of beginning their day enjoying breakfast in the classroom. Teachers report improved behavior and better concentration in students, while trips to the nurse’s office become less frequent.
The Walmart Foundation funds were regranted by Children’s Hunger Alliance to the following local school districts to help tens of thousands of children access school breakfast:
In Cuyahoga County:
Cleveland Heights High School – $4,000 award
Garfield Heights City Schools – $4,000 award
In Franklin County:
South-Western City Schools (for four elementary schools) – $11,500 award
In Geauga County:
Berkshire Local Schools – $2,000 award
Newbury Local Schools – $1,000 award
In Greene County:
Yellow Springs High School – $2,000 award
In Highland County:
Lynchburg-Clay High School – $2,000 award
In Hocking County:
Logan-Hocking Elementary Schools – $4,000 award
In Jackson County:
Wellston City Schools – $2,000 award
In Jefferson County:
Edison Local School District – $1,000 award
In Lawrence County:
Dawson-Bryant High School – $4,000 award
Chesapeake Union School District – $4,000 award
In Licking County:
Career Technical High School – $2,000 award
In Mahoning County:
Youngstown City School District – Williamson Elementary and East High School – $3,000 award
In Stark County:
Glenwood Intermediate School – $3,000 award
In Washington County:
Little Hocking Elementary and Warren Elementary – $6,000 award
Throughout Ohio, more than 600,000 children are food-insecure and they are unsure of where their next meal will come from. Children need to eat healthy meals in order to grow and thrive. Children who miss meals are at risk of increased health problems and learning difficulties.
Beyond helping to expand school breakfast, the $1.5 million Walmart Foundation grant will also be used to support summer nutrition programs, expanding the number of daycare centers enrolled in the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program, delivering nutrition education to at-risk children and conducting a Southeastern Ohio child nutrition asset mapping project, among other efforts.
In October of 2014, Walmart announced a commitment to create a more sustainable food system, with a focus on improving affordability by lowering the “true cost” of food for both customers and the environment, increasing access to food, making healthier eating easier, and improving the safety and transparency of the food chain. The commitment includes a goal of providing four billion meals to those in need by 2020.
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About Children’s Hunger Alliance
Founded in 1970 in Columbus, Children’s Hunger Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in Ohio. The organization’s mission is to ensure children without access receive healthy food, nutrition education and physical activity. In 2016 the organization worked with partners including childcare providers and afterschool programs to help provide nearly five million nutritious meals and snacks to hungry children throughout Ohio. Learn more at childrenshungeralliance.org.