Summer Grants Help Feed More Kids

Children’s Hunger Alliance Provides Partners Statewide with $60,000 to Increase Access to Summer Meals for Food-Insecure Children in 15 Counties

 COLUMBUS, OH – June 23, 2017 – Thousands of children in 15 Ohio counties will receive healthy meals this summer thanks to $60,000 in grants awarded by Children’s Hunger Alliance. The donations were funded by the Walmart Foundation and enable Children’s Hunger Alliance to invest in expanding the summer meal programs of community partners across the state. The grants will help improve enrichment programming to attract more kids to receive meals; begin mobile meal service using food trucks, vans and buses; set up temporary shelters; support a kids chef camp; and launch summer feeding for two school districts that did not previously offer summer meals.

“Children who rely on their schools for healthy meals can be left without nutritious food in the summertime,” Children’s Hunger Alliance President and CEO Judy Mobley said. “We are grateful to the Walmart Foundation for its generous investment in the health and well-being of Ohio children. We are excited to have helped two school districts start summer feeding this year, and to help others find unique ways to grow participation.”

Children’s Hunger Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in Ohio. Children’s Hunger Alliance partners with summer nutrition programs to expand access to healthy meals for the 575,000 food-insecure children in Ohio. The organization’s nutrition education team also leads nutrition education and physical activity at various summer sites to help children build lifelong healthy habits.  According to a recent report by the Food Research and Action Center, only 10 percent of children who received free or reduced-price lunches during the school year accessed a free summer meal in 2016.

The $60,000 funded by the Walmart Foundation helped Children’s Hunger Alliance offer community partners the support they needed to expand their summer meal programs or begin offer summer feeding in new ways than previously available:

• $10,000 was awarded to Columbus Recreation and Parks to enhance summer meal programs and attract more children to various sites throughout Franklin County. The city has partnered with local organizations for fun enrichment activities to engage children and help prevent summer learning loss while they enjoy a nutritious meal. Last year Columbus Recreation and Parks served more than 500,000 summer meals.
• $10,000 was awarded to Switzerland of Ohio Local Schools for school vehicles and buses to deliver food throughout Monroe County. The grant helped re-launch summer meals for the school district, which has not offered summer meals since 2014 due to transportation challenges. Using mobile meal delivery will enable the school to reach more than 300 children spread throughout the district’s more than 500 square miles.

  

• $10,000 was awarded to Hillsboro Local Schools for the purchase of a food truck to deliver meals to children throughout Highland County. This is the first year Hillsboro schools is offering summer meals and expects to serve more than 300 meals a day.
• $8,000 was awarded to Meigs Local Schools toward the purchase of a van to distribute food throughout Meigs County to reach more children with summer meals. This is the second summer Meigs schools are offering free summer meals. The school hopes to serve more than 600 kids each week.
• $6,000 was awarded to Northwest Summer Meal Partners to increase the number of mobile shelters used to feed children in Lucas and Wood counties. Organizers hope to exceed summer meals served by 10,000 above last year’s 300,000.
• $5,000 was awarded to Galion City Schools to support the second year of summer feeding for children in Crawford County. Last year, with support from Children’s Hunger Alliance, Galion served 2,000 meals in 40 days and based on participation this year the school district expects to double the number of meals served.

  

• $5,000 was awarded to TLC Ministries to purchase a convection oven and warming ovens to increase the number of hot meals they will serve to nearly 1,000 children daily throughout Gallia, Jackson and Vinton counties.
• $4,000 was awarded to Nightingale Montessori in support of summer feeding at multiple sites in Clark, Logan and Hardin counties. The grant will also be used to offer a Kids Chef Camp to teach kids how to garden and prepare easy healthy meals incorporating fruits and vegetables.
• $2,000 was awarded to RSVP of the Ohio Valley to help expand summer meals to new sites throughout Jackson, Gallia, Pike and Scioto counties.

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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 purposefully ensure children without access receive healthy food, nutrition education and physical activity. The organization works with partners to help provide millions of nutritious meals and snacks to hungry children throughout Ohio.  Learn more at childrenshungeralliance.org.