Transcript Internal communications - VSBA | Virginia School Boards

FIGHTING CHILDHOOD HUNGER:
FILLING THE GAPS SO KIDS LEARN & THRIVE
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?
First, some background on us
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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
FeedMore’s Objectives & Outcomes
Objectives
Childhood Hunger
To reduce food insecurity and improve the nutritional status of high risk children.
Programs are targeted to fill the gaps year round when school meals are not available.
Senior Hunger
To reduce food insecurity by providing balanced, nutritious and appealing meals to
seniors, people with disabilities and disadvantaged populations.
We strive to improve the quality of life of homebound individuals by providing
supported through daily social interaction, safety checks and more.
Feeding Families
To provide hunger relief for food insecure families and individuals in need through CVFB
food procurement and distribution, partner agencies and mobile pantries.
Programs Overview
Childhood
Hunger
Feeding Families
Senior Hunger
• Agencies
• Kids Cafe
(CACFP)
• SFSP
• Back Pack
• School Pantries
• Food
Distribution
Center
• TEFAP (USDA)
• Mobile Pantries
• School Pantries
• Food
Distribution
Center
• Agency Brown
Bag Programs
• Meals on
Wheels
Food Insecurity – across the U.S.
County
Type
High
High
All
Food
CHILD Counties
Insecurit
Food
y Rate Insecurity
Counties
Rate
Counties
Nonmetro/
rural
59%
60%
43%
Metro
14%
26%
35%
Micropolitan
28%
14%
22%
U.S. Total
100%
100%
100%
2010 Feeding America
The most food insecure
(top 10%) counties are
heavily concentrated in
the south and are less
likely to be metropolitan
than average
Food Insecurity in Virginia
Severity of Childhood Food Insecurity
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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
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Statewide, 17.6% of children are food insecure.
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We’re among the five states with lowest childhood food insecurity.
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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.
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
Childhood hunger – what is it?
Food Insecurity
Hunger
Obesity
“Limited or uncertain
availability of
nutritionally adequate
and safe foods or
limited or uncertain
availability to acquire
acceptable foods in
socially acceptable
ways.”
“The uneasy or painful
sensation caused by a
lack of food. The
recurrent and
involuntary lack of
access to food. Hunger
may produce
malnutrition over time…
Hunger…is a potential,
although not necessary,
consequence of food
insecurity.”
Young children who
experience food
insufficiency at any
point during the child’s
toddler years are 3.4
times more likely to be
obese at 4.5 years old.
This increase in risk was
greater than the 2.5fold risk increase
associated with having
an overweight or obese
parent.
Poverty ≠ Food Insecurity
29% of food insecure individuals are above 185% of
poverty.
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
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
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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
Weekends and Vacations: includes
BackPack Program
Summer: includes Summer Feeding
At Home: includes School Pantry
When School is Out
Filling the gaps: Kids Café & Summer Feeding Programs
Target Population
At-risk
children
Attendance
zone
• Unstable
nonpermanent
housing
• of school
with ≥50%
of children
eligible for
free or
reducedprice meals
• Lack of or
inconsistent
income
• Broken
family unit
• Live within
walking
distance to
facility
Age
• 18 and
under
Programming
(CACFP only)
• Enrichment
activities
• community
outings
• Academic
• Mentoring
• Homework
• Promotes
• health
• education
• safety
Facility
• clean
• secure
• adequately
staffed
Filling the gaps: Back Pack Program
MMG 2011: There are children at risk in every county in the U.S.
Target Audience
Need
Age
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% Child F.I.
% Food Insecurity
% F/R Meals
% Poverty
P. P. I. P.
Pre-school
Head Start
Elementary
Middle School
High School
Chronic
Hunger
Home
Situation
FM
Relationship
• Don’t bring a snack
• Observe child at
meals – exhibits
behaviors
• Physical Appearance
• School Performance
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Homeless
Large HH
Lack of food
Lack of $
Lack of basic
necessities
Food Insecure: If a child does not get enough food outside
of school he/she is considered “food insecure.”
CIS
Kids Cafe
SFSP
Agency
Delivery
Mobile Pantry
MOW Site
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
Impact of Hunger Relief programs
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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
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Connection with students!
Parental involvement!
Thank You!
Questions/Comments