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COLORADO LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO END CHILDHOOD HUNGER

November 24, 2009

Colorado — Gov. Bill Ritter, Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien, the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger and Share Our Strength, the leading national organization working to end childhood hunger, today announced the "Campaign to End Childhood Hunger in Colorado."

The campaign, which is supported by President Obama (view letter), will immediately work to increase the number of children enrolled in school breakfast and summer lunch programs while developing a comprehensive plan to end childhood hunger in Colorado by 2015.

"Colorado's future rests firmly in the hands of our children," Gov. Ritter said, kicking off the campaign at Place Bridge Academy in Denver. "This campaign will continue the progress we're making to improve the health and education of Colorado's most important resource, giving all kids a chance to live up to their God-given potential."

Lt. Gov. O'Brien, former president of the Colorado Children's Campaign and long-time children's advocate, will co-chair the initiative for the administration.
"I am proud to be a part of Colorado's efforts to end childhood hunger. This is a big first step to create a plan and a partnership so that children can lead healthier, more productive lives," Lt. Gov. O'Brien said.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said, "As a father of three school-aged girls and a former superintendent, I know that kids perform better when their stomachs are full, The Hunger Free Schools Act, which I introduced earlier this year, would bring our nutrition programs into the digital age and make sure every child has access to healthy meals during the school year and summer months. If we want to educate a nation of future leaders, we need to make sure our kids -- all Colorado kids -- have access to the healthy, nutritious food they need to grow, learn and thrive."

Joining the Governor, Lt. Governor and Sen. Bennet to lead the campaign are Share our Strength and the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger. More than 17 million children in the United States face hunger and more than 18 percent of U.S. children live in poverty, according to 2007 Census data. Share Our Strength has a national plan to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 which is built on public-private partnerships at the state level. Share Our Strength has committed $200,000 over two years to the Colorado Campaign.

"Share Our Strength's mission is to surround kids with nutritious food where they live, learn and play," said Bill Shore, Share Our Strength's founder and executive director. "The Campaign will help close the gaps between Colorado kids in need and the federal programs that can help them. Colorado is among the first states in the nation to work with Share Our Strength to eradicate childhood hunger in America by 2015."

The Colorado Coalition to End Hunger is the lead Colorado-based nonprofit organization for the campaign. "Too many children in Colorado are facing hunger, and in this modern day and age, that is simply unacceptable," said Executive Director Kathy Underhill. "Together with the Governor's Office and Share Our Strength we will work to give all children in Colorado a fair start."

The campaign will be led by a statewide working group representing a broad and diverse coalition of businesses, religious, educational, agricultural and civic leaders.

In the first year, the Campaign will see that thousands of additional Colorado children have nutritious meals by focusing on school breakfast and summer nutrition programs. With fewer than 38 percent of eligible children in Colorado receiving school breakfast, and only 8.2 percent of eligible children receiving summer meals, there is enormous opportunity to quickly make progress addressing childhood hunger. In the process, millions of dollars of additional federal support will flow to Colorado helping children without putting additional pressure on the state's budget.

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