Fighting Childhood hunger: filling the gaps so kids learn & thrive

1. Fighting Childhood hunger:filling the gaps so kids learn & thrive

2. Childhood Hunger: Where is it? How is your school system impacted by student hunger? How big is the problem and how does it impact student achievement? What else can School Boards do to help?

3. First, some background on us Umbrella organization bringing together a food bank, a Meals on Wheels, and a Community Kitchen (to prepare meals for delivery to at-risk children and homebound seniors & disabled) 1 of 7 Virginia Food Bank organizations Serves 36 localities in Central Virginia

4. FeedMore’s Objectives & Outcomes

5. Programs Overview

6. Food Insecurity – across the U.S. The most food insecure (top 10%) counties are heavily concentrated in the south and are less likely to be metropolitan than average 2010 Feeding America

7. Food Insecurity in Virginia

8. Severity of Childhood Food Insecurity In 2010, U.S. households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20.2 percent compared to 11.7 Statewide, 17.6% of children are food insecure. We’re among the five states with lowest childhood food insecurity. But, that’s still 1.8 million food insecure Virginia children. Locality by locality, food insecurity rates range from 11.2% to 32.1% of the community’s children.

9. Childhood Food Insecurity in Virginia Where are the localities with the highest rates of childhood food insecurity? Bristol, Galax City, Lexington City, Martinsville City, Henry, Bedford City, Dickenson, Page, Covington City, Smyth Where are the localities with the highest number of food insecure children? Fairfax, Virginia Beach, Prince William, Chesterfield, Loudoun, Henrico, Norfolk, Richmond, Newport News, Chesapeake

10. Childhood hunger – what is it?

11. Poverty ≠ Food Insecurity 29% of food insecure individuals are above 185% of poverty.

12. Childhood hunger – what’s the impact? “Children from families that report multiple experiences of food insufficiency and hunger are more likely to show behavioral, emotional, and academic problems on a standardized measure of psychosocial dysfunction than children from the same low-income communities whose families do not report experiences of hunger.” - Pediatrics Digest 1/1/98

13. Childhood Hunger Solutions For children in need, multiple programs provide access to multiple food needs – resources must be available at the times when children need them most: in the summer, over weekends and school vacations, afterschool, and at home. Filling the GAPS When School is Out • For a child, hunger does not take a summer vacation, a winter break or a weekend off.  • Child Hunger focus shifted to address the need in four key time periods: • Afterschool: includes Kids Cafe, CACFP and Snack • Weekendsand Vacations: includes BackPack Program • Summer: includes Summer Feeding • At Home: includes School Pantry

14. Filling the gaps: Kids Café & Summer Feeding Programs Target Population

15. Filling the gaps: Back Pack Program MMG 2011: There are children at risk in every county in the U.S. Food Insecure: If a child does not get enough food outside of school he/she is considered “food insecure.”

16. Virginia’s Food Banks Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Capital Area Food Bank (Northern VA) Fredericksburg Area Food Bank Feeding America Southwest Virginia FeedMore (Central Virginia Food Bank) Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula

17. Impact of Hunger Relief programs Improved Learning, health, behavior “It really helps the kids with focusing—in the past they were so lethargic on Mondays or experienced sickness because they’ve been without food.” - City guidance counselor “…she has been a different student; she words hard does her homework, and is making progress in the classroom. This has made a huge difference in her daily attitude, and we are sure the food is the primary cause.” - County assistant principal Connection with students! Parental involvement!

18. Thank You! Questions/Comments