FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nate Beeler
Director, Communications & Marketing
Children’s Hunger Alliance
614-643-8051
nbeeler@childrenshungeralliance.org
Sam Kass, author and former Senior White House Policy Advisor for Nutrition, is the special guest at the 31st Annual Menu of Hope fundraiser on March 5
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) is honored to announce that Sam Kass, former White House Chef and Senior White House Policy Advisor for Nutrition, will headline CHA’s 31st Annual Menu of Hope in Columbus, Ohio, on March 5, 2026. An author and internationally known nutrition advocate, Kass will join other valued public and private sector partners to highlight how CHA tackles childhood hunger in the Buckeye State, where 1 in 5 children are living with food insecurity.
The Menu of Hope fundraiser, held annually since 1995, ensures CHA’s ability to provide Ohio’s children with nutritious meals and food education right where they are, every day of the year.
Menu of Hope special guest Kass was asked by President Obama in 2009 to serve as the First Family’s chef, a position he held for six years. Kass took on several other roles during his White House tenure, including Senior White House Policy Advisor for Nutrition and Executive Director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign.
As a thought leader on health, nutrition, and food consumption, Kass brings experience in both the public and private sectors and has been a driving force at the forefront of health policy in the U.S. and abroad. In 2015, Kass founded the strategy firm Trove with a vision to connect businesses, organizations, and governments that are serious about making an impact on the world to the people and tools to help them achieve it. Kass is also a partner at the venture capital fund Acre Venture Partners. He is the author of two books: “Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World,” a cookbook that outlines his philosophy on how to buy, prepare, and eat delicious food, and “The Last Supper: How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis.”
The Menu of Hope luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in Columbus. Patron and table sponsor opportunities are still available by contacting development@childrenshungeralliance.org. Individual tickets are on sale now for $150 at www.childrenshungeralliance.org/menu-of-hope-26/.
About Children’s Hunger Alliance
Since 1970, CHA has been leading the charge to break the cycle of childhood hunger in Ohio, providing nutritious meals and food education to children right where they are, every day of the year. CHA is the largest comprehensive statewide organization focused solely on children’s food security and nutrition education. In 2025 alone, CHA provided 10.1 million meals to 125,000 children while partnering with nearly 1,600 sites across 74 counties.
For more information, please visit www.childrenshungeralliance.org.
Connect with us on LinkedIn – @CHAohio, Instagram – @childrenshungeralliance, and Facebook – @CHAohio.
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