Childhood Hunger

Latest News on May 2009

May 26
Demand Is Increasing For Subsidized Meals

In many communities, growing numbers of students rely on schools for two meals a day.

By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer

The country’s economic downturn can be measured in the breakfast line at McNair Elementary School, where students collect a Styrofoam tray with a banana, cereal and juice box before joining classmates for reading. More than 200 children arrive unfed at the Herndon school each morning, about double the total in September.

In many communities, growing numbers of students rely on schools for two meals a day. In Fairfax County, home to the Washington region’s largest school system, the portion of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals rose from 21 to 23 percent. In Prince William County, the number rose from 30 to 33 percent and in Montgomery County, from 26 to 28 percent. In foreclosure-wracked Clark County, Nev., where Las Vegas is located, the rate has climbed to 46 percent, from 38 percent 1 1/2 years ago.

The jolt in demand for government-subsidized meals comes as many school programs are struggling to balance their food service budgets because of higher costs and a decline in paying customers, school nutrition advocates said. They are asking Congress to expand the $12 billion-a-year lunch and breakfast program when it is up for reauthorization this fall.

Most school systems lose money with every free and reduced-price meal, said Katie Wilson, president of the School Nutrition Association. “There is a crisis brewing here,” she said.

The typical school lunch costs $2.92 to prepare, the association said. The federal government reimburses school systems $2.57 for each free lunch, $2.17 for every reduced-price lunch and 24 cents for each full-price lunch. Schools also receive 20 cents a lunch to spend on government-issued food.

Local school systems said the federal reimbursements don’t cover production expenses. Fairfax nutrition officials said it costs about $3.76 to make a lunch. Fairfax schools, like others, have invested in healthier but higher-cost foods, such as whole grains and fresh fruit. Labor expenses are also significant.

Virginia, Maryland and some other states supplement the federal contribution. But many school systems seek catering work and sales from vending machines or a la carte desserts or side dishes to balance their budgets.

Prices for full-paying students also have increased in recent years. But many school systems said they have lost money on them, too. Prince George’s County raised lunch fees this school year to $2 in elementary school (from $1.75) and $2.25 in middle and high schools (from $1.85), but county schools lose money on those sales.

Despite prices that can beat McDonald’s or a home-packed lunch, many school nutrition officials said their full-price food sales are down this year.

The nutrition association estimates that half of all school systems nationwide have more students who are struggling to pay for meals. Some schools allow children without money to charge meals; others provide a bowl of cereal or sandwich. Albuquerque public schools amassed more than $100,000 in unpaid lunch charges during the first part of this academic year and began offering free cheese sandwiches rather than absorbing more debt for hot lunches.

In many places, the children most likely to be short of cash are those who pay the reduced prices.

To qualify for free meals, a family of four, for example, can make at most $27,560. Partial subsidies go to such families making up to $39,220. Students in the reduced-price category pay 30 cents for breakfast or 40 cents for lunch.

Advocates say the seemingly small fee can be insurmountable for some, and they are lobbying Congress to eliminate it. “These are families that are on the very cusp,” Wilson said. “They are making decisions like do they put gas in their car to go to work, or do they pay their electricity. These families do not have the 40 cents to pay for lunch.”

Prince William officials said that although 90 to 95 percent of students eligible for free lunches eat every day, 85 percent or fewer of those who qualify for the reduced price eat a school lunch. Nationwide, the Agriculture Department, which administers the school meals program, estimates that 1 million students are eligible for a reduced-price lunch but don’t take advantage of it.

To boost participation, Alexandria opted to pay the additional 70 cents a day for children in reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs. Gaithersburg schools pay the extra fee for breakfast through a business partnership. Washington state pays for breakfast for such children.

At McNair Elementary, Principal Theresa West said eliminating the small fee would help many of her parents, who work hourly wage jobs for landscape services or hotels. Every day, she said, a teacher or cafeteria worker volunteers a dollar or two to help students who come through the lunch line without money.

They are determined to make sure no child is hungry during school. And they are increasingly concerned about the students’ well-being after school and over the summer. A nearby church has begun donating bags of canned food and granola bars for students to take home over the weekend.

“There are so many things [students] worry about,” West said. “You don’t want them to have to worry about food.”

May 25
Food-pack program bridges a gap for families in crisis

For about $70, volunteers fill a box with non-perishable foods that will feed a family for three days.

Alison Aloisio
Bethel Citizen

A grassroots program, “Three Day Supply,” has quietly started providing short-term food for area families in crisis.

“This provides a bridge for people going into crisis, for people who never thought they’d be where they are,” said volunteer Jeanie Waite. “People who reach the edge in this community do not always have the resources to feed themselves in the short term.”

The concept is simple: For about $70, volunteers fill a box with non-perishable foods that will feed a family for three days. That’s the typical time needed to complete paperwork to qualify them for food stamps or other aid.

“This is not intended to supplant the Food Pantry,” which, Waite said, can provide food for a longer period.

The program has been in the planning stages for the past year. Waite got the idea while visiting relatives in North Carolina and hearing about a similar program there.

Distribution of food got underway in April. Based on estimates provided by the Food Pantry, the average need is about four families a month.

“Many are displaced or single-parent families,” Waite said.

The menu/food supply is simple, familiar and storable for up to a year.

Examples include elbow macaroni, raisins, applesauce, canned milk, tuna, bake beans, soup, jelly, popcorn, cocoa and cookies.

“It’s user friendly. Even a child could put together a meal,” said Waite.

And, she said, the simple comfort foods of hot chocolate and cookies will soothe a child while mom deals with the challenges facing the family.

News of the program has spread by word of mouth, and a variety of local people and organizations have stepped up to donate food.

TDS currently has enough food for about two months. Anyone interested in helping out in the future may call 824-2780.

May 18
11 yr-old boy on trek to help homeless kids

Young philanthropist helps homeless and underprivileged children by starting a 668-mile hike from Atlanta to Washington, DC.

USA TODAY
Emily Bazar

The first five days of walking are the toughest for Zach Bonner, 11, no matter how hard he trains. The Florida boy’s feet ache, his tummy rumbles, his legs stiffen.

But the young philanthropist is on a mission to help homeless children, and after several days of walking at least 11 miles per day, he loosens up and the pain subsides. “I want to help other kids that didn’t have the same opportunities,” he says.

Zach, who founded the Little Red Wagon Foundation in 2005 to help homeless and underprivileged children, started a 668-mile hike from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., last week. Along the way, Zach is collecting letters from children that he hopes to give President Obama in July.

He has raised about $35,000 for this portion of the walk so far, he says.

The previous two walks — from Tampa to Tallahassee in 2007 and from Tallahassee to Atlanta in 2008 — brought in about $42,000 total.

“These kids don’t have a home, they don’t have a safe place to sleep at night,” he says. “They’re out on the streets not because they want to be, but because it’s out of their control.”

The National Center on Family Homelessness estimates that 1.5 million children are homeless in the USA at some point each year. “It’s getting worse … because of the depth of the economic recession and the staggering numbers of housing foreclosures nationally,” President Ellen Bassuk says.

Zach’s push to help other kids began after Hurricane Charley hit Florida in 2004. He went door to door with his wagon to collect water, tarps and other supplies. He collected 27 pick-up truck loads of supplies, he says. “To continue helping kids more efficiently,” he says, he and his mother established his foundation in 2005.

Since then, he has thrown holiday parties for kids living in hurricane FEMA trailers and filled about 2,000 backpacks with food, toiletries, candy and toys for homeless children.

Zach, who lives in Valrico, Fla., is in fifth grade. He walks 11 to 13 miles each day with his mother, Laurie Bonner, 43. His sister usually drives a car ahead of them. They sleep in a donated recreational vehicle.

Laurie says “it makes him so happy when he finishes a project and sees all the kids.” Zach’s progress is tracked at www.LittleRedWagonFoundation.com. Children can e-mail letters for Zach to take to Washington to letterstopres@aol.com.

“He is a very unusual young man,” says Deborah Shore, executive director of Sasha Bruce Youthwork in Washington, D.C., which provides services for runaway and homeless teenagers, including a shelter.

“Even as a very young person, he has been able to … make a difference.”

May 15
White Castle Supporting the Fight to End Childhood Hunger in America

White Castle Contributes $25,000 to Share Our Strength to Help End Childhood Hunger in America.

As a result of tough economic times, childhood hunger is on the rise. White Castle is making a $25,000 contribution to Share Our Strength(R), the leading national organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. According to Share Our Strength estimates, on any given day 1 out of 6 children in the United States are in danger of experiencing hunger, and in recent months, the numbers have been growing. As a result, White Castle will be presenting a check for $25,000 to Debbie Shore of Share Our Strength at the White Castle at 3205 S. Ashland in Chicago, IL 60608 on Monday, May 18 at 9:30 a.m.

Debbie Shore, Co-Founder and Associate Director of Share Our Strength expressed gratitude to White Castle, “During these difficult times, it is even more important than ever to work together to make a difference in the lives of children - hunger is an enemy that robs children of their chance for normal, healthy development. We are grateful to White Castle. This donation will help us end childhood hunger in America.”

Jamie Richardson, White Castle Vice President commented, “We are grateful for organizations like Share Our Strength - they don’t just identify the problem, then rest easy - they lead efforts that have an impact with individuals. At White Castle, we have been dedicated to ‘feeding the hungry’ since 1921 - whether that hunger is for physical nourishment, growth through learning, or connection to community. We are pleased to partner with Share Our Strength, and we see this contribution as an investment in all the great work they are doing.”

Press Release

May 14
Child homelessness rising

According to the National Center for Family Homelessness, Louisiana has the highest rate of child homelessness in the nation and nearly 2,000 students in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System are classified as homeless.

WAFB CBS 9 (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Keitha Nelson

In a crowed East Baton Rouge middle school hallway, students shuffle around, hustling to get to their next class. However, some in the crowd has a lot more than just school work on their minds. They don’t know where they’ll lay their heads for the night, if they’ll have another meal after lunch, will anyone be there to take care of them once they leave school grounds? “Do I end up in a shelter? Do I end up on the street? All of these questions are in their minds,” said Carolyn Coleman. “And that’s the population that we work with.”

Coleman runs the homeless office for East Baton Rouge Parish schools. She says for the kids she calls “hers,” school is the most stable place in their lives. After calling the shots for 17 years, she believes she’s seen and heard it all. “If you want to be kept on your toes, stay around children and listen to what they say,” she said. Not all of her kids live in shelters. Some simply move from one friend or family’s home to another.

One young man lives in an apartment with his mother and two younger brothers. Their source of income is not steady and their current home is not guaranteed. “People like to judge you and stuff.” His identity will be kept hidden, but for the purpose of this story, he’ll be referred to as “Peter.” Following Hurricane Katrina, Peter and his family had to pick up and move to Baton Rouge from New Orleans. He says they lived in a motel for several months. The rent was $60 per week. “After that, we got our own place. It was a rental house, so we stayed there for a little while. Then, we moved again.”

The constant pattern of moving from one place to the next is something Peter shares with many students classified as homeless. Another huge dilemma shared is getting a hot meal at night. With two younger brothers to look after when the food is scarce, Peter does without. “That means I have to look out for them,” he explained. “So if I do get something to eat, I share it with them. So I don’t really eat as much.”

The latest figures show there are more than 1,800 students in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System classified as homeless and that number continues to rise. “I had no idea we had that much of a homeless population in our school system,” said Dr. Stewart Gordon, the chief of pediatrics at the LSU Health Center. He is an advocate of rearing children from birth. He says a child’s first few years of learning could set the path for their futures. “If you’re on target being able to read well by third or fourth grade, that’s a good marker for long term success.”

With such a large number of children living in poverty in the state of Louisiana, it’s difficult for many kids to stay on track. Gordon says some states use those literacy figures to predict the number of prison beds they’ll need down the road. He says kids that struggle in school tend to be more delinquent and start dropping out. “In Louisiana, we incarcerate I believe nationally more kids per capita than any other state in the union. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that we have a high percentage of poverty,” Dr. Gordon said.

Back at the homeless program office, Coleman shuffles through her binder pages, looking to the numerous tasks ahead. She reminds herself of the little things she’ll have to pick up for her kids. They are things many people take for granted. “We’re talking about toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towels. We always remind them that where you are is not where you always will be,” Coleman said.

Dr. Gordon believes it’s not just a parent’s obligation to rear a child from their early stages, but it is our responsibility as a society to invest heavily in the nurture and growth of kids during their first five years.

May 14
Food Prices Continue to Increase

Food prices jumped 1.5% last month - the sharpest rise since Jan ‘08.

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.3 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This rise followed a 1.2-percent decline in March and a 0.1-percent increase in February. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods moved down 0.5 percent following a 1.5-percent decrease a month earlier, and the crude goods index advanced 3.0 percent after declining 0.3 percent in March.

Read the full report on the BLS site»

May 8
Mail carriers collect goods for local food banks

US Postal Service is collecting canned goods from customers along postal routes as carriers make their regular rounds.

B.J. Williams Staff

GAINESVILLE - When area postal carriers deliver your mail Saturday, they’d also like to pick something up.

The U.S. Postal Service is collecting canned goods from customers along postal routes as carriers make their regular rounds. It’s something mail carriers have done every Mother’s Day weekend for the last several years.

Kevin Cook, who works for the Gainesville post office, also serves as the vice-president of the National Association of Letter carriers.

“For Gainesville, last year was our biggest year,” said Cook. “We collected just over 16,000 pounds.”

Cook advises patrons to leave donations in a bag or box next to mailboxes.

He says all of the food goes to the Chattahoochee Baptist Association’s Good Samaritan program, which in turn distributes the donations to food banks in the area.

May 4
More students need free reduced-price lunches

New records show that the number of Florida students receiving free and reduced-price lunches has risen sharply during the past year.

OrlandoSentinel.com
Denise-Marie Balona

For $2, a student at Keeth Elementary in Winter Springs can get one of the best lunch deals around: pasta shells with meatballs, garlic bread, steamed broccoli, raw baby carrots and a carton of cold milk.

But even a couple of bucks can be tough to come by for tens of thousands of parents in Central Florida and around the state.

New records show that the number of Florida students receiving free and reduced-price lunches — a national indicator of poverty — has risen sharply during the past year. At Keeth in Seminole County, one of the wealthiest parts of the region, about one in three children gets help paying for cafeteria meals. Just five years ago, one in 10 did.

Educators, lawmakers and scholars mostly blame the economy, which has handed public schools yet another challenge.

Who gets a free lunch?

Fifty-two percent of Florida children qualify for the federally funded National School Lunch program.

More than 42% of students at each school receive free lunches.

About 10% pay 40 cents.

The average cost of a school lunch in Florida is $1.97.

How does increased participation affect schools?

Higher poverty levels mean pressure on school cafeteria workers to make more breakfasts and lunches. Many schools have opened food pantries and clothing closets, too.

Also, more kids are coming to class without paper and pencils, forcing teachers and other students to pick up the slack.

How are children affected?

Poverty can affect a kid’s schoolwork. A boy with a growling tummy or a girl with a toothache will have trouble focusing. A stressful home life — for example, if Dad lost his job or the family is moving a lot — exacerbates the situation. And working parents often don’t have as much time to help with schoolwork. Discipline problems at school may start to rise because children with stressful home lives often act out.

Why should we care?

It’s costing public schools, which already are struggling with funding cuts, more money to make meals. At the same time, the money the federal government sends districts to provide meals often doesn’t cover the full cost. In Seminole, schools spent $2.63 per meal last year. The federal government pays $2.57 for each free meal. Seminole expects to lose about $300,000 this year because of that discrepancy. Some districts, including Orange, try to generate more money by charging extra to students whose families can afford to buy their lunches.

What are the other effects of children becoming poorer?

Some kids can no longer afford field trips and travel for academic competitions. Mike Armbruster, the principal at Ocoee High, has seen a huge drop in students buying class rings, senior announcements and other extras. He also has watched campus crime grow — especially theft.

What else could account for the free-lunch increase?

Many schools, keenly aware of the financial troubles facing their communities, are marketing the free-lunch program better. Some high schools urge students to take advantage of it because those who qualify for free or low-cost meals also receive waivers to take college-entrance exams such as the SAT for free.

School-zoning changes may have an effect, too. Several years ago, attendance zones shifted for a number of Seminole elementary schools. That probably accounts for some of the increase in poor children at Keeth Elementary in Winter Springs, the principal said.

May 4
Philanthropies Come to the Rescue When Government Comes Up Short

Philanthropy can serve as a means of supporting the government’s priorities at this time.

FOXnews.com
Jessica Weinstein

It’s the year of the government spending solution: $700 billion in TARP funds, $787 billion in the stimulus bill and a proposal from the president to adopt a budget of more than $3 trillion.

Lost in the tidal wave of government greenbacks is the private solution: the contributions of foundations, corporations and private volunteer organizations that are continuing to step up to help a nation in need.

Traditionally, these philanthropies and corporations have invested private or corporate wealth in the stock market and used the interest to support causes in their community and around the world.

Now, despite enormous stock market losses, they are continuing to do so — even dipping into their endowments to make it happen.

“Philanthropy can serve as a means of supporting the government’s priorities at this time,” said Charles Moore, executive director of Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

“We can usually react to changing community needs more quickly than a government entity,” said Scott Tennant, spokesman for The Cleveland Foundation, which has given out more than $1 million in recent months in response to the economic crisis.

That includes $110,667 to Adoption Network Cleveland, which had lost funding due to county budget cuts. The foundation’s contribution has allowed some 700 foster children to continue receiving services.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is also acting to protect funding for services to children. In November, with many of its grantees reporting unexpected gaps in their operating budgets, the foundation responded by awarding $3.3 million in surprise grants of $25,000 each, and 33 agencies throughout central Texas got what they needed to stay in the black.

“We felt that given the economy, the time of year and the extraordinary work that the grantees were doing, that this was the right thing to do,” said spokeswoman Megan Matthews.

But it’s not easy to open the wallet in a severe recession — even for a philanthropy.

A 2009 Foundation Center survey of more than 1,200 U.S. foundations showed that close to two-thirds of respondents expect to reduce grants this year, and more than half will rely on other methods, such as providing volunteers, to support their non-profits.

That same survey found that 168 foundations were launching a direct response to the economic crisis — an economic stimulus of their own, including grants to food pantries, homeless shelters, and support to programs mitigating foreclosures and helping people repair their credit.

Instead of trillions of dollars, it is millions of dollars, but just like the president’s stated priorities for government action, the private sector response is timely, targeted, and temporary. Philanthropies maintain ongoing relationships with donors and their communities, so they’re more likely to know about immediate needs, and many have boards of directors that meet at least four times a year, allowing them to award funds quickly.

Meeting Basic Needs

As food and shelter providers become overwhelmed, philanthropies are stepping up, over and above their existing giving.

In December, the GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the GE Company, directed more than $20 million in funding to food and shelter organizations.

“Families are facing one of the worst economic recessions of our lifetime, forcing many to seek food and shelter services,” foundation president Bob Corcoran said in a statement. “GE Foundation has reprioritized its 2009 programs and is reallocating funds to support agencies whose prime mission is responding to these basic needs.”

In February, the Cargill, Inc. Corporate Giving Program donated $3.9 million to national food networks to make sure they could provide for the influx of people suddenly needing help providing food to their families.

“Hunger relief agencies are facing a growing demand for their services at a time when donations are shrinking,” said Greg Page, Cargill’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Stemming the Tide of Foreclosures

While Congress continues to hammer out a mortgage bill, philanthropies have also taken the lead in preventing and mitigating foreclosures.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has dispensed more than half of a pledged $68 million in grants and low-interest loans to prevent and mitigate foreclosures in Chicago, where the foundation is located.

“The scale of the foreclosure crisis threatens to disrupt hard-won gains in many of Chicago’s lowest-income neighborhoods,” MacArthur President Johnathan Fanton said in a statement. “Nowhere is this work more urgent and nowhere is it more important to us than in the city we call home.”

The Ford Foundation has also focused on reducing foreclosures, giving more than $8 million to that effort, including a $2 million grant to Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta to eliminate delays faced by homeowners in foreclosure. The foundation also gave $888,000 over three years to Legal Services of South Central Michigan to launch a statewide initiative to provide representation to homeowners facing foreclosure.

“Many of our areas of work focus on the very issues that the crisis has brought to the surface, so we are well-positioned to make useful contributions now and as things continue to unfold,” said Ford Foundation spokeswoman Fiona Guthrie.

In Washington State, corporations like Microsoft and Boeing are now partnering with the Seattle Foundation to raise $6 million over the next three years to provide comprehensive services to families in economic distress. In February, five agencies received grants of $250,000 each to stabilize housing through foreclosure counseling, to train families on how to stay out of debt, and to help people build toward long-term security.

“We will continue to monitor changing needs and service gaps - as the impact of public stimulus funding begins to take hold, ” said Molly Stearns, senior vice president of the Seattle Foundation.

One thing’s for sure - the impact of this private stimulus is already making a difference. Just last month, Seattle Foundation’s Building Resilience Fund was able to provide living expenses so an unemployed single mom named Wendy could complete her degree, get a new job and keep her home.

And in Atlanta, where Consumer Credit Counseling Services is now using the Ford Foundation’s grant to create software to prevent foreclosure, they expect to stave off as many as 80,000 foreclosures a year.

“The Ford Foundation’s grant will help us expand the reach of this new work, ensuring that more borrowers have access to high-quality credit counseling services,” said Suzanne Boas, president of CCCS of Greater Atlanta. “Preserving homeownership is one of our agency’s highest priorities, and this new software platform will help us save the homes of many Americans.”

May 1
A Partnership with States to End Child Hunger in America by 2015

In a new paper released today by the DLC, “Fulfilling the President’s Call,” senior fellow Tom Freedman and Share our Strength Founder Bill Shore write that a relatively small outlay of federal funds could incentivize states to set aside the necessary resources to take on the mission of ending child hunger in their state in a short time.

WASHINGTON — During the campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama excited anti-hunger activists by committing to end child hunger by 2015. Understandably, the plan for how to accomplish that goal has not been fully sketched out.

In a new paper released today by the DLC, “Fulfilling the President’s Call,” senior fellow Tom Freedman and Share our Strength Founder Bill Shore write that a relatively small outlay of federal funds could incentivize states to set aside the necessary resources to take on the mission of ending child hunger in their state in a short time.

There is no substitute for a strong role for the federal government in ending childhood hunger. But there is also an indispensible complementary role at the state level. Critical programs ranging from food stamps to child nutrition must be adequately funded at the federal level but also executed more effectively by the states.

This proposal urges the Administration to embrace a stronger partnership with states to ensure they have the strategic resources they need to close the gap between children who are eligible for assistance and those who actually receive it.

There are enormous resources available, but they are too underutilized to help hungry children. A smart focus on leveraging those existing resources, and on using state, private sector, and nonprofit local partners to help lead and implement a local plan, makes the most sense.

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