Childhood Hunger on the Rise

New Study Details Child Food Insecurity at Local Level
Nearly 19 percent of Connecticut’s Children at Risk of Hunger

We’ve been saying one out of every six children in Connecticut is food insecure. But today’s release of data shows a much more disturbing number. It’s nearly one out of every five children in this state – which sharply contrasts with our reputation as the state with the highest per capita income. How can a state with so much wealth allow this many children to struggle with hunger?

Today, Connecticut Food Bank and the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, Feeding America, released a new study which reveals that children are struggling with hunger in every county and congressional district in Connecticut at an overall rate of 18.9 percent.

The Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity 2011 study shows the child food insecurity rate in Connecticut ranges from 16.4 percent in Middlesex County to 22.8 percent in Windham County. In Connecticut Food Bank’s service area which includes Fairfield, Litchfield, New Haven, New London, Middlesex and Windham Counties, the child food insecurity rate is 18.7 percent, or nearly one in five children.

“The study also confirms our assessment that half of the children living in food insecure households in Connecticut are not eligible for federal child nutrition programs because they live in a households with incomes over the threshold to qualify,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s President and CEO. “They often rely on Connecticut Food Bank and its member programs for food assistance.” These federal programs include SNAP (food stamps), reduced-price school meals and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

The child food insecurity rates in the counties served by Connecticut Food Bank are:

Fairfield County: 38,980 children or 17.3% of all children
Litchfield County: 7,710 children or 18.2%
New Haven County: 40,100 children or 20.5%
New London County: 10,880 children or 18.2%
Middlesex County: 5,860 children or 16.4%
Windham County 6,080 children or 22.8%
Total for Connecticut Food Bank’s service area: 109,610 children or 18.7 % of all children

“The prevalence and consequences of our nation’s child food insecurity problem are well documented, but our efforts to adequately address the problem have been hindered by a lack of data at the local level,” said Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America. “This new information addresses this need by providing first-ever data about the prevalence of child food insecurity at the county and congressional district level.”

The research is a follow up to the Map the Meal Gap 2011: Food Insecurity Estimates at the County Level, supported by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Nielsen. This data provided the first detailed look at the food budget needed by families struggling with hunger, which in Connecticut is an estimated $199 million.

The ConAgra Foundation funded the child food insecurity research with the goal of advancing the collective understanding of child hunger in America, so that resources at the local and national level could be better leveraged to help children and families in need.

Connecticut Food Bank serves approximately 600 community-based feeding programs in six of Connecticut’s eight counties: Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London and Windham. Connecticut Food Bank distributes more than 31 tons of food every business day. For more information about Connecticut Food Bank, visit www.ctfoodbank.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CTFoodBank or follow our news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CTFoodBank. To donate and help in our fight against hunger, click here.

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.

Student’s gratitude earns “A” from her teacher and Connecticut Food Bank

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to hear directly from the young people who give back after experiencing what it’s like to be food insecure. An 11th grade girl recently sent the following letter to tell us her story:

“I am proud to say that due to a project I recently did; my teacher is donating $25 to your organization. I chose your organization for my project because you helped out me and my mother in times of hardship. Now, my mother and I donate as many canned foods as we can, whenever we can. As I said before, my mother and I are really grateful for the food you supplied in our time of need. I hope your organization is thriving and continues to help out those in time of need.”

Her teacher told us, “My Career Development classes had to complete an assignment dedicated to researching a nonprofit organization of their choice. The students had to present their information and visual aids to the class, thus increasing the audience’s knowledge about their charity. Each class voted on the persuasive speech presentation they thought was the best and then I chose the ultimate winner. I am pleased to enclose the $25 donation on behalf of one of my students. She did an excellent job and earned a 100 on her project. She made a personal connection to your food bank, as she and her mother were in need of your services for a period of time. Thank you again for all you do to assist people during difficult times in their lives.”

We thank the teacher and are grateful to the student for sharing her story and being so willing to put a face on hunger for her teacher and classmates. It is through the work of these brave individuals who are eager to tell about their experiences that others can begin to understand what it is like to not know where their next meal is coming from.

There’s no summer vacation from a healthy mind and body!

Editor’s note: Today’s blog entry is submitted by Cheryl Kaiden, a Board member of Branford’s Community Dining Room.

With the sun shining and temperatures warming, summer feels like it’s arrived. At the Community Dining Room (CDR) in Branford, CT, we’re more focused than ever on helping our clients to enjoy the outdoors in mind and body!

This is the time of year, when many local farmers and neighbors share their bounty with us, dropping off vegetables and fruits that we can incorporate into our daily meals. CDR kitchen volunteers have made an increased commitment to focus on developing healthy, nutritious meals using whole grains and natural ingredients whenever possible. We’ve increased the number of vegetables and fruits we serve and decreased sugary desserts.

To help clients make life-long changes, we regularly offer nutrition and health clinics for adults during our Noon Lunch Program, and hands-on education programs for children at our Tuesday Night Family Dinner. This spring we added “Walking for Wellness” on Wednesdays. A healthy walking program aimed at getting our clients to improve their physical condition and control appetites.

At the CDR, we don’t see summer as a time to cut back on programming, we see it as a time to renew our commitment to good health: to get clients moving, and help change eating habits from bad to good with local vegetables, herbs and fruits. As we move ahead, our mission to end hunger and isolation with food, fellowship, referrals and education remains the focus of our programs.

To learn more about the CDR or to make a donation, visit our Web site at www.communitydiningroom.com, visit our blog at www.cdrbranford.wordpress.com, or Find us on Facebook.

Connecticut Food Bank Wins Gold PRSA Mercury Award for 2009/2010 Annual Report

Connecticut Food Bank is the recipient of a 2011 Gold Mercury Award from the Connecticut Chapters of the Public Relations Society of America for its 2009/2010 Annual Report: Imagine. The award was presented in the Tactics Category, Annual Report, Not for Profit.

“The goal of the annual report is to increase awareness that people who struggle with hunger are not just statistics, but can be family, friends and neighbors,” said Janet Kniffin, Connecticut Food Bank’s chief development officer. “The publication helps the reader put themselves in the shoes of someone who has lost their ability to provide food for themselves or their family.”

Connecticut Food Bank’s annual report was designed by Caserta Design Company of Stratford, Connecticut, and included photos by Aaron Kotowski of New Haven.

PRSA’s Mercury Awards recognize outstanding creative and strategic work in the public relations, communications and marketing professions. The awards honor creative and strategic excellence and encourage outstanding performance in the field.

The awards competition includes the work of members from the Connecticut Valley, Southern Connecticut, Westchester/Fairfield chapters of the Public Relations Society of America.

Turning Kilowatts into Kindness – One Scoop at a Time

To kick off the summer season and give back to the local community, Fairfield’s own Gofer Ice Cream is hosting a “Kilowatts to Kindness” ice cream social in partnership with North American Power on Sunday, June 26, from 2-4 p.m. at Gofer Ice Cream of Fairfield (The Brick Walk – 1241 Post Road). Aside from appealing to those with a sweet tooth, the tasty social has a larger goal – helping to alleviate hunger. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the ice cream sales will be donated to Connecticut Food Bank.

“Doing good for the community is very important to us here at Gofer ice cream,” said owner Jay Ragusa. “We’re delighted that we can make an impact in the lives of Connecticut residents in need.”

Ragusa has taken giving back one step further, helping his customers extend their giving to Connecticut Food Bank by switching their energy supplier to North American Power (www.napower.com), a South Norwalk-based company that helps non-profit organizations leverage the power of perpetual fundraising with their innovative philanthropic programs. For every customer who switches to North American Power through Connecticut Food Bank’s dedicated web site (www.napower.com/CTFoodBank), North American Power will donate $5 to the organization. Plus, for every supporter who signs on, North American Power will continue monthly donations based on the customer’s kilowatt usage.

“Giving back to the greater good is something that has always been part of our company’s core mission and our fundraising programs give customers the chance to support their favorite organizations by building philanthropy into everyday spending,” said North American Power CEO Kerry Breitbart. “For supporters of Connecticut Food Bank, the simple act of paying their monthly electric bill can make a huge impact in the fight against hunger in Connecticut.”

The “Kilowatts to Kindness” ice cream social is open to the entire community and will feature live music from local musician Kristin Errett, face painting for the kids, green vendors and the opportunity to learn about the new fundraising initiative to benefit Connecticut Food Bank. This event is sponsored by Gofer Ice Cream of Fairfield, CT, in partnership with North American Power to benefit the Connecticut Food Bank

Connecticut Food Bank Director Presenting at Regional Conference

Connecticut Food Bank’s Programs Director Luray Shepard is serving as a panelist at this week’s Northeast Food Bank Closing the Meal Gap conference in Boston, Massachusetts, hosted by The Greater Boston Food Bank and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Northeast Region. Shepard is presenting information about Connecticut Food Bank’s Kids BackPack Program which benefits nearly 1,750 students in 16 Connecticut school districts. The program supplies students in nearly 70 schools with nutritious food during weekends when other resources, including free/reduced price school meals, are not available to them.

By partnering with local public school systems, teachers and staff, Connecticut Food Bank provides these students with kid-friendly food distributed discreetly at school at the end of each week, using their own backpack or one given to them. The children receive two servings each of 100 percent fruit juice, shelf-stable milk, two whole grain cereals, two high-nutrition entrees and two low-fat, low sugar snacks.

Other conference speakers include Kevin Concannon, the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at the United States Department of Agriculture; as well as representatives from Feeding America, The Greater Boston Food Bank, Food Bank for New York City and Foodshare.

Connecticut Food Bank dedicates “Giving Garden” to encourage gardeners to Plant an Extra Row for the Hungry

Connecticut Food Bank recently dedicated its new “Giving Garden” to encourage home and community gardeners and farmers to plant an extra row of produce as part of its Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign. East Haven Mayor April Capone planted the garden’s last tomato plant at a dedication ceremony attended by the local businesses who donated vegetable plants, as well as volunteers who are donating their time this summer to tend the garden. You can watch the event on East Haven Patch.

The Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign’s goal is to increase the number of gardeners, farmers, schools, places of worship, youth and community groups and businesses that make a difference by adding a row of seedbeds or donating their surplus produce to Connecticut Food Bank and other local hunger-relief organizations. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and donor receipts are provided.

“Every extra tomato, squash or watermelon goes a long way to help feed those who don’t have enough to eat,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s President & CEO. “In Connecticut, one in seven families is affected by hunger and we all know the importance of providing nutritious fruits and vegetables to people in need.”

Home Depot of East Haven and Van Wilgen’s Garden Center in North Branford donated the vegetable plants for the garden. Surplus plants were given to some of Connecticut Food Bank’s member food pantries and soup kitchens that have vegetable gardens on site.

Since Connecticut Food Bank launched the Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign in 2006, the program has collected thousands of pounds of fresh produce for people struggling with hunger in Connecticut.

Clean, fresh produce can be dropped off at a local food pantry or Connecticut Food Bank’s warehouses in East Haven, Fairfield and Waterbury. Any fruit or vegetable that gardeners prefer to grow can be accepted. Suggested plantings include spinach, kale, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, peas, green beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants, summer and winter squash, zucchini, beets and garlic.

To find a local food pantry that accepts fresh produce donations in the area, visit www.ampleharvest.org. For details about Plant a Row or to request a program speaker for your organization, call Carolyn Russell, Connecticut Food Bank’s Procurement Director at 203-469-5000.