Tackling Summer Hunger 2011: Ensuring No Kid Goes Hungry

Transcription

1 NOKIDHUNGRY Tackling Summer Hunger 2011: Ensuring No Kid Goes Hungry When School Is Out

2 Acknowledgements We would like to thank the staff at the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, the Washington Children s Alliance, the Collaboration to End Hunger in New Mexico, DC Hunger Solutions, End Hunger Connecticut!, Florida Impact, Hunger Free Colorado, No Kid Hungry New Orleans, No Kid Hungry New York City, No Kid Hungry Virginia, and the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland for their contributions to this report and for their tireless efforts to ensure that children have access to nutritious food during the summer. This report was made possible by the generous support of the Arby s Foundation. The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices is dedicated to providing information, tools and resources to help No Kid Hungry campaigns and other organizations end childhood hunger in their states and communities.

3 Tackling Summer Hunger 2011: Ensuring No Kid Goes Hungry When School Is Out Contents: Summary 2 School s End Signals Loss of Nutritious Meals for Many Children 3 Share Our Strength Investments Increase Access 4 No Kid Hungry Campaigns Launch Comprehensive Efforts 5 Understanding the summer meals landscape 5 Increasing availability in underserved communities 6 Convening summer meals summits 7 Making small investments to support program start-up, operation and expansion 7 Launching outreach and marketing campaigns to reach families and kids 9 Using spokespersons 11 Engaging volunteers to promote summer meals programs 11 Using summer meals websites, hotlines and text messaging 14 No Kid Hungry strategies pay off 15 Sharing Knowledge Through Center for Best Practices 17 Raising Awareness About Summer Hunger and Sharing Our Strength 18 Appendix 19

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5 Summary Summer is a critical time for young persons academic and physical well-being. Over summer, students typically lose several months of learning in mathematics, and low-income students tend to fall behind in reading as well. Children are also at a higher risk of obesity and hunger when they are not in school. Summer meals programs, which include the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program, can be an important source of nutrition for children and youth during this time. Summer meals also provide an incentive for children to participate in summer enrichment programs which means that children are not only well fed, but in a safe environment engaged in academic and recreational activities. Despite the benefits of summer meals programs, they are severely underutilized. By the end of the school year, more than 20 million kids and teenagers relied on free or reduced-price lunches each school day yet fewer than three million participated in free summer meals programs. There are many reasons for this gap, but they generally fall into two categories: Communities don t have enough accessible summer meals programs, and families are not aware of them when they do exist. Keeping these challenges in mind, and capitalizing on lessons learned during previous summers, Share Our Strength worked to increase access to summer meals in 2011 in a number of ways: Through our state and city No Kid Hungry campaigns, we partnered with organizations to execute aggressive summer meals outreach campaigns to increase the number of sites offering summer meals and the number of kids eating summer meals. We provided grants to 160 organizations in 35 states and the District of Columbia to support the start-up, operation and expansion of summer meals programs. Grants included support for transportation, equipment, staffing, programming and outreach. We raised awareness about the availability of summer meals through Share Our Strength s website, blog, social networking and other tools. In 2011, 11 of Share Our Strength s No Kid Hungry campaigns helped connect kids to summer meals programs. In seven of these locations, public and private organizations served 1.9 million more meals than in summer In total, Share Our Strength invested more than $1.6 million to help national, state and community organizations in 35 states expand access to summer meals. This report provides more details about the summer meals program and how Share Our Strength and our partners are successfully tackling summer hunger. Tackling Summer Hunger 2

6 School s End Signals Loss of Nutritious Meals for Many Children For most kids, summer vacation is a much deserved reward for a year of hard work in the classroom. For many children from low-income families, the summer can mean a time of uncertainty. When school is out, these kids no longer have access to the free and reduced-price meals they rely on during the school year. Studies show that children are at a higher risk for both obesity and hunger during the summer months. Family budgets are often stretched to the breaking point and many families also face the challenge of providing safe, supervised and affordable places for kids and teens to socialize, play and learn during the summer. It doesn t have to be this way. Summer meals programs, which include the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program, help those who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the school year receive healthy food during the summer. Summer meals programs are funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); administered by state agencies, such as state departments of education, health and human services or agriculture; and run by public and nonprofit entities, including schools, community centers and faith-based organizations. The availability of free meals is also an incentive for children to participate in summer enrichment programs, which means that not only are they being well fed, but that they are in a safe environment engaged in educational and recreational activities that enable them to return to school ready to learn. Summer meals programs help families stretch limited food budgets and give parents peace of mind during the summer months. And they can introduce families to community resources that they can access all year long. Despite obvious benefits and tremendous need, summer meals programs are severely underutilized. Only about 15 percent of kids who eat free or reduced-price school meals also receive meals during the summer. That means that 17 million students who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year are not getting them when school is out. Share Our Strength is working to change this by investing in summer meals programs and initiatives in communities across the country. 3 Tackling Summer Hunger

7 Share Our Strength Investments Increase Access There are several reasons why so few kids participate in summer meals programs, but they generally fall into two categories: Communities lack enough accessible summer meals programs to meet the need. Families are not aware of existing programs. Additionally, Federal guidelines make it difficult for summer meals sites to operate in some areas. For example, a site can participate in the summer meals program without individually documenting each child s household income only if at least 50 percent of the area s children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Many needy communities particularly in rural areas do not meet the 50 percent threshold, but still have a large proportion of low-income children who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year. There are also limitations on what federal funding can cover. Federal reimbursements pay for meals but quite often organizations need additional support to make the program work. For example, organizations often need help with marketing and outreach, staffing costs, transportation to get the children to the meals, refrigerated trucks to bring the meals to the kids, and purchasing refrigerators or coolers and cooking equipment to store and prepare meals. Summer meals programs also need additional investments to improve meal quality to make sure kids are getting nutritious food. The extent to which organizations market summer meals programs varies tremendously across localities and states. Because summer meals programs typically have very limited resources for marketing, many families and youth do not know they are available or how to find a program near them. With these challenges in mind, and capitalizing on lessons learned during previous summers, Share Our Strength worked to increase access to summer meals in 2011 in a number of ways: Through our state and city No Kid Hungry campaigns, we partnered with organizations to execute aggressive summer meals outreach campaigns designed to increase the number of sites offering summer meals and the number of kids eating them. We provided grants to 160 organizations in 35 states and the District of Columbia to support the start-up, operation and expansion of summer meals programs. Grants included support for transportation, equipment, staffing, programming, and outreach. In total, Share Our Strength invested $1.6 million to support summer meals in We raised awareness about the availability of summer meals through our website, blog, social networking and other tools. Tackling Summer Hunger 4

8 No Kid Hungry Campaigns Launch Comprehensive Efforts Share Our Strength s No Kid Hungry Campaign is dedicated to ending childhood hunger nationwide by building public-private partnerships at the community level with local antihunger groups, government agencies, corporate partners, and key political, education, faith and business leaders. Individual state or city campaigns develop plans with measureable goals to end childhood hunger in their jurisdiction. These plans focus on increasing participation in federal nutrition programs which, in turn, unleashes millions of federal dollars to connect kids who are at risk of hunger to the food they need to succeed. During summer 2011, we had active campaigns in 12 cities and states. Increasing participation in summer meals is an integral part of the No Kid Hungry campaign. In 2011, partners launched comprehensive efforts that focused on raising awareness about summer meals programs, increasing the number or capacity of meal sites, and implementing effective strategies to ensure that more kids ate nutritious meals during the summer. No Kid Hungry summer meals campaigns drew from the expertise of existing local coalitions, leveraged multiple sources of funding, and coordinated work among related initiatives designed to make sure kids have access to healthy meals all year long. Understanding the summer meals landscape Many communities across the country lack enough accessible summer meals programs. To better understand service gaps, No Kid Hungry campaigns conducted community assessments and developed maps to display summer meals sites overlaid with poverty data or free/reduced-price school meal eligibility or participation. These maps helped identify target regions for building capacity and raising awareness among political and community leaders. Several No Kid Hungry campaigns also used extensive community assessments to better understand existing community resources and identify organizations and agencies to approach about operating summer meals programs. In January 2011, No Kid Hungry Arkansas conducted an online survey of more than 250 agencies that help feed hungry children. The resulting data provided valuable information about how to serve more children and families, including best practices for feeding kids, barriers to success and where agencies need more support. Working with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the campaign identified 27 counties that lacked summer meals programs, and established programs in 13 of these counties. Hunger Free Colorado mapped summer meals sites across the state to identify gaps in services. They also used the maps to prioritize outreach and raise awareness about the gaps among community leaders and elected officials, including the Metro Mayors Caucus. This partnership helped create new sites and promote existing sites through site visits. No Kid Hungry New Orleans mapped summer meal sites against childhood poverty rates to identify underserved areas and worked with local community organizations to provide target outreach to specific communities. 5 Tackling Summer Hunger

9 Increasing availability in underserved communities No Kid Hungry campaigns worked to increase the number of meal sites or capacity of existing sites in underserved areas through outreach to potential sites or sponsors and by providing grants to support program start-up or expansion. Summer meals sponsors the schools, government agencies and nonprofits that handle the financial and administrative aspects of the program are critical to increasing access to summer meals. Sponsors are responsible for training staff, ensuring compliance with federal regulations, maintaining program documentation, and submitting paperwork to the state agency for reimbursement. A sponsor may also provide meals for summer sites. Reaching out to potential sponsors and expanding the number of summer meals sites is a time-intensive process that typically starts very early in the year. Effective summer meals sites should be in areas where kids already congregate, or organizations should offer activities that will draw kids to a new location. Families must be able to get to the sites and the sites should have the capacity to operate a program in compliance with federal law. Recruiting summer meals sites requires relationship-building, engaging local organizations or community leaders, and being able to provide information and support to organizations willing to start a site. No Kid Hungry Arkansas used its community assessment to identify underserved areas and child-serving organizations that would make good summer meals sites. In 2011, the campaign helped increase the number of sites from 339 in 2010 to 440 in 2011 and helped secure 40 additional sponsors. In Washington, D.C., partners identified libraries as good places for summer meals sites. DC Hunger Solutions collaborated with the Office of the Chief Librarian and the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation and conducted outreach to libraries, resulting in five library branches becoming DC Free Summer Meals sites. Continuing an effort that began in 2009, End Childhood Hunger Washington, a partnership of Share our Strength and the Children s Alliance, convened a Summer Meals Work Group consisting of representatives from nonprofit organizations and the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Child Nutrition Services to ensure more summer meals sites were located in especially vulnerable communities. In 2011, 34 more sites served meals than in Hunger Free Colorado Tackling Summer Hunger 6

10 Convening summer meals summits A number of campaign partners organized working groups or summer meals summits to collectively strategize how to address gaps in summer meals programming. Providing a forum for returning sponsors and sites to share successes, raise concerns and discuss past challenges can help campaigns identify resources, technical assistance and other support needed. in January 2011, No Kid Hungry Colorado lead partner, Hunger Free Colorado, convened more than 120 people from across the state and country for a day-long summit. Participants learned about creative summer meals expansion strategies, discussed ways to improve access to summer meals in their communities, and came away with marketing materials to promote their programs. On January 31, 2011, the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland held a Summer Meals Planning Conference for program sponsors. The goal was to debrief on successes and challenges from summer 2010, identify ongoing concerns and questions, and discuss resources and support available in The Lt. Gov. and Executive Director of the Governor s Office for Children opened the meeting by reinforcing how critical summer meals are in the state s efforts to end childhood hunger. Making small investments to support program start-up, operation and expansion Small, strategic grants from Share Our Strength help No Kid Hungry campaigns build capacity to end childhood hunger in target communities. Summer meals grants address a common, specific barrier (e.g. transportation or refrigeration) and provide money for infrastructure that will have a sustainable impact on programs in the future. In 2011, Share Our Strength worked closely with No Kid Hungry campaign partners in 10 cities and states to make strategic investments in organizations starting or expanding summer meals programs. This included work in Texas and Georgia, states that launched campaigns in the fall Organizations in 21 additional states received National No Kid Hungry grants. In 2011, Share Our Strength awarded more than $1.1 million twice as much as in 2010 through 150 grants in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. Mini-grants helped expand access to summer meals programs in a many ways: Until 2011, Colorado s Englewood School District had no summer meals program. In 2011, volunteers purchased a used bus for $1. Stocked with food from Food Bank of the Rockies, the newly dubbed Lunch Box Express delivered lunches to kids throughout the district. Share Our Strength awarded a grant to equip the bus with coolers, and the Colorado No Kid Hungry Campaign provided support to decorate the bus with recognizable branding. The Neighborhood Community Outreach (NCO) organization in Magnolia, Arkansas, received a mini-grant through Share Our Strength and No Kid Hungry Arkansas to 7 Tackling Summer Hunger

11 establish two new summer meals sites in NCO used most of the grant to offset the costs of transporting kids to meal sites, a major challenge in rural Arkansas. They used the remaining funds to purchase computer equipment to manage reporting requirements and produce marketing materials. DC Hunger Solutions and Share Our Strength released a single grant application from the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation s Capital and collaborated on the grantee selection process, making it easier for applicants to access summer meals funds from both organizations. In New Mexico, Share Our Strength provided $2,500 mini-grants to 10 summer meals sponsors. They used the funds to help provide much-needed transportation in rural communities. One site also purchased a table and umbrella so kids could sit in the shade rather than in the intense desert heat while enjoying their lunch. End Childhood Hunger Washington and Share Our Strength provided small grants to five organizations, including a grant to St. Leo s Food Connection in Tacoma that enabled them to provide stipends to parents to serve as summer meals supervisors. Family League of Baltimore City - Mobile Meals Mobile summer meals Lack of transportation or safe routes for kids to get to meal sites are common barriers for kids needing summer meals. In response, Share Our Strength supported a number of mobile summer meals programs across the country. Share Our Strength provided a grant to the Family League of Baltimore City to launch a mobile meals project. Using a donated van, the Family League served more than 6,000 summer lunches at three faith-based sites in the city s high-need areas. In 2010, Share Our Strength partnered with SchoolFood and the New York City Department of Education to start a mobile summer meals truck, adding a second truck in The trucks brought nutritious meals to kids where they gather during the summer: parks, playgrounds, beaches and pools. In 2011, the two trucks served a total of 64,000 meals in Queens and the Bronx an average of 900 meals per day. Tackling Summer Hunger 8

12 Launching outreach and marketing campaigns to reach families and kids Since many local programs and state agencies have limited resources for promotion, No Kid Hungry campaigns emphasize the importance of making sure children and their families know about summer meals programs near them. In 2011, campaigns implemented a range of strategies from sending postcards and fliers home in kids backpacks, to securing celebrity endorsements, producing public service announcements (PSAs) and placing advertisements on taxi cabs and buses to raise awareness about summer meals. By summer s end, No Kid Hungry campaigns and their local partners had distributed more than 1.6 million printed pieces to help families find meals nearby. All No Kid Hungry campaigns addressing summer hunger made marketing and outreach a priority for They used branded materials and strategic partnerships to reach kids and their families at every gathering point with important information. Shortly after launching in June 2011, No Kid Hungry Virginia began a pilot program in Norfolk to raise awareness about summer meals locations and increase the number of children participating. Their efforts included promoting the Virginia 211 hotline, distributing 20,000 promotional materials, mailing information directly to 34,000 households, and making automated calls to 15,000 households. No Kid Hungry Virginia also distributed 100 banners, 400 yard signs and 250 posters to meal sites to help advertise their programs to the neighborhood. Mayor Mitch Landrieu s office collaborated with No Kid Hungry New Orleans, bringing together faithbased and nonprofit organizations, the Recovery School District, and Louisiana 211 to conduct extensive summer meals outreach marketing: distributing postcards, yard signs, business cards, refrigerator magnets, door hangers, banners and other materials. An analysis of 211 calls indicated that summer meals flyers were the most cited way callers learned about the program. The Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger created trilingual summer meals business cards for distribution to clients at Workforce Centers, food stamp and Medicaid offices, county health and WIC departments, and emergency food venues. The Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland sent postcards home in the backpacks of 442,000 public school students in targeted areas. The Partnership provided sites with yard signs and large banners to increase their visibility within their neighborhoods. In addition, the Maryland State Department of Education promoted the program through donated billboard space in Baltimore City and bus ads in Prince George s County. 9 Tackling Summer Hunger

13 Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger Bus stop New York City taxis No Kid Hungry New York City distributed more than one million promotional pieces in 2011: city agencies and nonprofits received bilingual postcards (English and Spanish) and flyers in three languages (English, Spanish and Chinese), and 24,000 Housing Authority households with children received localized summer meals mailers, all created by the Partnership. Knowing that grandparents often take on child care duties when school is out, No Kid Hungry Connecticut reached out to seniors participating in the federal SNAP program to make sure they knew about summer meals programs as a source of food and activity for their grandchildren. End Childhood Hunger Washington collaborated with its public and nonprofit partners to distribute more than 100,000 fliers at SNAP, WIC and Child Support Offices, and food banks. Fliers were also sent with WIC checks in targeted communities. School s Out Washington, a key local partner, spread the word about summer meals to superintendents and principals. Summer meals on the move No Kid Hungry campaigns utilized public transportation venues to get the message of free meals to families in cities. While the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger advertised summer meals programs on bus shelters in highneed areas, No Kid Hungry Connecticut secured interior advertisements in 228 buses throughout the Hartford area. During July, New York City taxis featured rooftop advertisements publicizing a local 311 hotline for families to learn about free summer meals.

14 Using spokespersons Many campaigns had a little help from important friends, getting well-known athletes, celebrity chefs, prominent local officials and other famous spokespersons to publicize summer meals programs. New York Knicks star Chauncey Billups recorded a radio PSA and was featured in bilingual newspaper ads. Baltimore native and former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman recorded a radio ad and robo calls to 55,000 households in Baltimore and Prince George s County, and kicked off the summer meals program at an event with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy recorded a radio PSA with a student that aired on the seven Clear Channel Connecticut stations statewide throughout the summer. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe recorded a radio announcement that was broadcast statewide. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper recorded a robo call in both Spanish and English directing families to the summer meals hotline and website. in Florida, the Orlando Magic produced PSAs in English and Spanish with former player and all-time leading scorer Nick Anderson and team announcer Joey Colon. The team also designed and underwrote business cards and a held media launch event at a City of Orlando summer meal site. The Miami Heat produced a PSA with former player Alonzo Mourning and the team s Spanish-language announcer Jose Paneda, and held a media launch with Mourning and team mascot Burnie arriving on a Walmart semi-truck. Engaging volunteers to promote summer meals programs In dense urban areas, outreach days are effective ways to publicize summer meals programs and build fellowship with partners, volunteers, sponsors and the community. Organizing dozens of enthusiastic volunteers on the streets handing out materials raises the visibility of summer meals programs and can also draw media attention. In suburban areas, local businesses often allow volunteers to set up tables outside, where they can hand out information to customers. famous spokespersons publicize summer meals programs Through Public service announcements

15 In 2011, partners in New York City, Maryland, Connecticut, and Washington, DC used one-on-one contacts like these to get the word out about summer meals. on July 12, Share Our Strength and DC Hunger Solutions staff members spent a day canvassing targeted neighborhoods and distributing 5,000 summer meals fliers in each quadrant of the city. The result was a substantial increase in text messages to the summer meals hotline. On July 16, more than 140 volunteers spread out across all five boroughs of New York City as part of the New York City Summer Meals Outreach Day. Volunteers distributed 75,000 pieces of literature to people on the street and at playgrounds, community centers, Laundromats and libraries. Volunteers competed in a raffle for a prize from Food Network: an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of their studios and a three-course lunch prepared by Food Network chefs. No Kid Hungry Connecticut team members organized an Outreach Blitz Day in July to increase participation in a new summer lunch site. Volunteers, including staff from End Hunger Connecticut! and Congressman John Larson s district office, the site s sponsoring organization, and other volunteers distributed more than 2,000 pieces of marketing materials postcards, business cards, lawn signs, and more throughout the area. On the same day, End Hunger Connecticut! also set up a table outside the local Walmart store to promote summer meals and provide SNAP information and application assistance to customers and employees. After the blitz, the site sponsor reported a dramatic increase in participation at the meal site. on July 25, staffers and volunteers from Maryland Hunger Solutions and Share Our Strength canvassed five Baltimore neighborhoods that had not had summer meal sites in They distributed 2,700 pieces of literature to local businesses, churches, community centers, health centers and a library. The effort was so successful that organizers added two more canvass days in August. Several No Kid Hungry campaigns also benefitted from having year round AmeriCorps Vista Volunteers and summer associates on board. Similarly, with generous support from the Sodexo Foundation, the Partnerships to End Childhood Hunger in both Maryland and Florida hosted Youth Ambassadors, college students with a demonstrated interest in food policy or nutrition. Serving at the Maryland Governor s Office for Children, the Maryland ambassadors staffed summer meals hotlines, visited sites, served meals and conducted neighborhood outreach.

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17 Using summer meals websites, hotlines and text messaging Printed outreach materials, PSAs and advertisements typically directed viewers to a hotline and/or website where individuals could locate a summer meals site near them. No Kid Hungry campaigns worked with state agencies to create, improve and maintain these critical tools. Examples follow: DC Hunger Solutions, Hunger Free Colorado, the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, and No Kid Hungry campaigns in New Mexico and Connecticut created or linked to websites that provided locations of open summer meals sites by city and zip code. Due to its success, the Florida s Commissioner of Agriculture is adopting and expanding statewide the website piloted by the Florida Partnership. Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy s Office included a web button linking to the summer meals location finder on the Connecticut State website as the first of only two flash banners featured as part of their commitment to the Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign. The state website turned out to be the primary referral source for Connecticut s summer meals site, ctsummerfood.org: nearly 55 percent of referrals came from the state s official site, and more than 93 percent of those referrals represented new visitors to ctsummerfood.org. Within Reach, key members of the Washington Summer Meals Work Group, operated a Family Food Hotline and web-based Summer Meals Finder ( The meal finder received a surge in hits when the state Department of Social and Health Services included a link to it on its homepage. No Kid Hungry campaigns in Florida, New York City, Virginia and New Orleans promoted call centers (NYC 311 and 211, respectively) and created new hotlines, learning from the summer meals hotline in Colorado. The Florida Partnership worked with the networks in eight urban, south Florida counties to provide help-line services. The successful partnership prompted Florida s Department of Agriculture to contract with all of the state s 2-1-1s for the operation of a statewide help-line next year. The hotlines will provide outreach about the program to all callers. colorado and Washington D.C. successfully piloted texting features in Individuals using Hunger Free Colorado s bilingual summer meals hotline could text their location and receive a text reply with the nearest summer meals site. Children and families in Washington D.C. could text questions about summer meals to DC Hunger Solutions using the free service, Google Voice. DC Hunger Solutions staff responded to more than 230 text messages throughout the summer. Tackling Summer Hunger 14

18 No Kid Hungry strategies pay off In 2010, Share Our Strength worked directly in four states to end summer hunger by feeding more children. In 2011, we expanded our efforts to reach children in 11 states and cities across the country. The efforts paid off. In the majority of No Kid Hungry campaign states and cities, the number of meals served increased: In just seven of these locations, campaigns helped connect kids to 1.9 million more meals than in summer Each of the No Kid Hungry campaigns set measureable goals and strategies to help feed more kids in their locales. The chart below summarizes each campaign s summer meals goal, strategies and outcomes for Campaign GOAL Strategies OUTCOMES No Kid Hungry Arkansas Increase meals served by 10-15%, i.e. serve at least 178,979 more summer meals than in Conduct community assessment and map sites for strategy. Aggressively recruit new sites and sponsors. Provide mini-grants to new sites. Launch summer meals hotline. Conduct print and radio outreach. AR DHS continue weekly electronic payments to sites and implementation of USDA pilot 15% increase in number of meals served, i.e. 263,268 more meals. 22% increase in participation, i.e. served 5,345 more kids than in new sponsors and 101 additional sites vs No Kid Hungry Colorado Increase meals served by 15%, i.e. serve 147,966 more summer meals than in Map sites for strategy. Recruit new sites and sponsors. Simplify application online. Provide mini-grants to new sites. Conduct outreach through print and robo calls. Launch interactive map of meal sites on website. Add texting capabilities to hotline. Map Cooking Matters Colorado summer meal sites around Cooking Matters course locations and promote program to course participants. 19% increase in number of meals served, i.e.188,060 more meals. Eight new sponsors and 77 new sites, a 25% increase in sites. 15 Tackling Summer Hunger

19 Campaign GOAL strategies OUTCOMES No Kid Hungry Connecticut Increase the number of summer meals served by 10%, i.e. 150,000 more meals than in Recruit new sites and sponsors. Launch bilingual interactive map of meal sites on website. Provide outreach and start-up mini-grants. Conduct outreach through print, television, Internet and radio. Provide mobile meals service. engagement. 2% increase in number of meals served, i.e. 23,000 more meals. 10% increase in the number of sponsors More than doubled the number of calls to 211 summer meals information line, i.e. 485 more calls than Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation s Capital Increase number of summer meals served in Washington, DC. Increase number of sites serving summer meals. Conduct print outreach. Qualified 10 additional sites for summer meal service. Provide start-up or expansion mini-grants. Engage volunteers in outreach day. Develop summer meals website. Provide text service to locate summer meals. Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger Increase number of meals served by 5% (328,000 additional meals) in 8 of Florida s largest counties. Increase federal reimbursement by10% ($1.5 million additional funds) in 8 of Florida s largest counties. Conduct extensive outreach through print, radio, events and media relations. Expand targeted outreach to 6 additional counties. Create website to link to summer meal sites. Partner with 211 to provide summer meals hotline. 2% increase in meals served, i.e. 101,236 more meals. A 4% increase in federal reimbursements in 8 pilot counties, i.e. $549,969 in additional federal funds. Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland Increase participation to 13% of children qualifying for free and reducedprice meals, an increase in average daily participation of more than 6,000 children. Conduct outreach through print, radio, billboard, bus shelters. Raise awareness through media relations. Provide outreach, transportation and expansion mini-grants. Pilot mobile meals program. Engage volunteers in outreach day. Recruit Youth Ambassadors. 6% increase in average daily participation in July 2011 compared to July 2010, i.e. 3,072 additional kids. Overall summer meals participation decreased to 10.4% of children qualifying for free and reduced-price meals. 120 additional sites. Support summer meals hotline.

20 Campaign GOAL strategies OUTCOMES No Kid Hungry New Mexico Increase summer meal participation by 3%. Provide mini-grants to new sites. Conduct print outreach. Launch summer meals website with mapping capacity. 4.3% decrease in the average daily participation in SFSP, i.e. 2,111 fewer kids. 24 additional sites; 5 additional sponsors. No Kid Hungry New Orleans Increase summer food participation by 10% in Greater New Orleans, i.e. 3,200 additional children. Map sites to determine outreach priorities. Provide outreach through print, radio, television and community engagement. 5.9% increase in summer meal participation, i.e. served 2,156 more children. 36 additional sites. Partner with 211 to provide outreach. Provide site expansion mini-grants. No Kid Hungry New York City Increase number of summer meals served in New York City by 3%, i.e. serve 200,000 more meals than in Conduct outreach through print, radio, taxi cabs. Engage volunteers in outreach day. Pilot mobile meals program. Partner with 311 to provide summer meals hotline. 3.4% increase in number of meals served, i.e. 235,000 more meals. About 64,000 meals served by two mobile food trucks, or 450 meals per day per truck. Advertise through Facebook. No Kid Hungry Virginia Increase summer meals served in Virginia. Provide infrastructure and transportation mini-grants. Conduct outreach pilot in Norfolk with aggressive print distribution. 23% increase in number of meals served, i.e.893,281 more meals. 113 additional sites. Partner with 211 to provide summer meals hotline. VA Dept. of Health began administering SFSP and extended some service into Sept. following a natural disaster. End Childhood Hunger Washington Increase the number of summer meals served by 10%, i.e. serve 149,000 more meals than in Collect data to determine target areas for expansion. Convene Summer Meals Work Group to coordinate planning. 14% increase in number of summer meals served, i.e. 201,387 more meals. 34 additional sites. Develop summer meals toolkit. Provide start-up and expansion mini-grants. Conduct outreach through printed materials. Tackling Summer Hunger 16

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22 Sodexo Summer Meals Outreach Toolkit Making communities aware of the need for summer meals and the resources available is critical to feeding more kids. Thanks to the generous support of the Sodexo Foundation, in June 2011, Share Our Strength developed an electronic toolkit to help state partners get the word out through the media and outreach materials about summer meals programs. The toolkit contains simple instructions and easy-to-use templates to help organizations work with the media to promote summer meals programs, as well as outreach materials that can be tailored for specific communities. The Sodexo Summer Meals Toolkit is available online at summer-meals/sodexo-summer-mealsoutreach-toolkit. TOOLKIT COMPONENTS: Sharing Knowledge Through the Center for Best Practices The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices is committed to supporting campaign partners and grantees in their work to increase access to summer meals. The Center shares best practices and lessons learned through meetings, conference calls, monthly newsletters, and reports; provides individualized technical assistance; and supports research and evaluation. In January 2011, the Center published the first edition of Tackling Summer Hunger: Ensuring No Kid Goes Hungry When School Is Out, which documented summer meals campaigns in four states with active No Kid Hungry partnerships. The Center also hosted a summer meals conference call and webinar, and supported No Kid Hungry partners efforts to host summer meals summits in their states. Door hanger Template Banner Template Postcard Template Yard Sign Template business card Template In November 2011, Share Our Strength launched the Center for Best Practices website ( bestpractices.nokidhungry. org/) to share effective practices and resources for fighting childhood hunger. The site s section on summer meals provides examples of efforts to increase program access, and shares reports and other tools to help in those efforts. The website also includes a digital outreach toolkit to help No Kid Hungry campaigns work with the media to increase awareness. To ensure that No Kid Hungry campaigns are learning from their efforts and implementing effective strategies, Share Our Strength supported evaluations in New York City, New Mexico and Arkansas. The Center also developed a comprehensive summer meals evaluation toolkit, which includes protocols for organizations to help evaluate work to increase participation in summer meals and inform actions moving forward. 17 Tackling Summer Hunger

23 Raising Awareness About Summer Hunger and Sharing Our Strength While No Kid Hungry campaigns work at the local level to communicate about existing summer meals programs in their communities, Share Our Strength works at the national level to raise awareness about childhood hunger and solutions to eliminate it. In 2011, this work included: launching a comprehensive social media strategy to support summer meals and activating our online network through campaigns about the importance of addressing summer hunger. launching a summer meals webpage (strength.org/summer) to help families find meals in their communities and provide tools to help spread the word about the program. Sharing first-hand accounts of summer meals in action on the No Kid Hungry blog. A favorite was, On the Road to Summer Meals 2011, a road trip through ten states where Share Our Strength is working to feed kids at risk of hunger during the summer. Facebook posts and Tweets helped highlight the stories captured in the blog. The road trip helped raise awareness about the problem of summer hunger and demonstrate the real-world impact of summer meals programs on specific communities. Producing a national summer meals PSA with Food Network. Aarti for Summer Meals: To help build national awareness of summer meal programs, Share Our Strength produced a co-branded summer meals campaign with Food Network, featuring Aarti Sequeira, host of Food Network s show Aarti s Party. These ran during Food Network s highest rated primetime show, Next Food Network Star. Share Our Strength also worked with No Kid Hungry Campaigns to plan media events that promoted the overall importance of summer meals. When the No Kid Hungry Virginia campaign launched in June, 2011, Share Our Strength Founder and CEO Bill Shore, No Kid Hungry spokesperson Jeff Bridges, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack attended, spoke about the importance of summer meals and promoted the phone number for families to call for information on nearby meal sites. At a citywide canvass in New York City, Share Our Strength rallied more than 100 volunteers to hand out more than 75,000 pieces of summer meals outreach materials across all five boroughs. connecticut partners held a press event with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman on July 25 to promote the launch of the New Haven summer food truck, the first of its kind in Connecticut. Share Our Strength kicked off the Maryland Summer Food Service Program at a press conference on June 28 with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame former wide receiver and Baltimore native Antonio Freeman. Connecting more kids to summer meals is not an easy task, but we are working with partners, sharing our strength and making great progress to ensure that kids don t go hungry during the summer. Tackling Summer Hunger 18

24 Appendix No Kid Hungry Campaigns Arkansas No Kid Hungry Arkansas launched in October 2010 with a goal of ending childhood hunger in the state by This partnership, which includes Share Our Strength, The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, and Governor Mike Beebe, is working to increase participation in SNAP and the School Breakfast, Summer Meals and Afterschool Meals programs, as well as Cooking Matters. Colorado No Kid Hungry Colorado is a partnership between Hunger Free Colorado, Share Our Strength, and the Office of Governor John Hickenlooper. Through a statewide, public-private coalition, the Campaign is working to ensure that all children have nutritious food at home, at school, and in their communities. Connecticut Share Our Strength and End Hunger Connecticut!, a statewide anti-hunger and food security organization, began the Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign in March 2011 to help end childhood hunger in the state by This partnership focuses on increasing participation in the Summer Meals, the At-Risk Afterschool Meals and School Breakfast programs. Florida Since October 2007, Share Our Strength and Florida Impact, a statewide anti-hunger organization, have been working to end childhood hunger in the Sunshine State. The Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger concentrates on increasing enrollment in the state s Summer Meals, Afterschool Snack, and School Breakfast programs. Georgia The Georgia Feeding for a Promising Future - No Kid Hungry Campaign brings together Share Our Strength, the Georgia Food Bank Association and other stakeholders to work towards ending childhood hunger in the state. The campaign is working to increase participation in Summer Meals and Afterschool Meals programs, and is growing enrollment in SNAP through training and outreach activities. Illinois In March 2012, Governor Pat Quinn s Office, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Feeding America, and Share Our Strength launched the No Kid Hungry Illinois Campaign. No Kid Hungry Illinois is an initiative of Hunger Free Illinois, a statewide effort to implement recommendations from Illinois Commission to End Hunger. The campaign goals are to increase participation in School Breakfast and Summer Meals programs. Los Angeles In March 2011, Share Our Strength, California Food Policy Advocates, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa launched the Los Angeles No Kid Hungry Campaign, a countywide public-private partnership aimed at ending childhood hunger in Los Angeles County. The campaign works to connect children and teens to School Breakfast and child care nutrition programs. Maryland In November 2008, Governor Martin O Malley launched the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland, a public-private coalition led by Share Our Strength and the Governor s Office for Children. The Partnership is dedicated to raising awareness about childhood hunger and increasing participation in the Summer Meals, Afterschool Meal, School Breakfast, SNAP and WIC programs. Montana Launched in February 2012, No Kid Hungry Montana is a partnership between the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and Share Our Strength. The campaign goals are to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, and the At-Risk Afterschool Meals program. 19 Tackling Summer Hunger

25 New Mexico Launched in February 2011, the New Mexico No Kid Hungry Campaign is a partnership between Share Our Strength and the New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger. Through outreach and awareness, the campaign aims to increase participation in SNAP, and the School Breakfast and Summer Meals programs, particularly in rural areas. New Orleans Launched in November 2010, the No Kid Hungry New Orleans campaign works closely with Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, community organizations, school districts and city and state agencies to end childhood hunger in New Orleans. The campaign works to increase enrollment in Summer Meals, School Breakfast and Afterschool Meals programs, as well as addressing nutrition education through Cooking Matters. New York City Launched in 2010, Share Our Strength has convened a diverse group of organizations and stakeholders to form the New York City No Kid Hungry Campaign. The campaign priorities are to increase participation in the Summer Meals and School Breakfast programs. North Carolina No Kid Hungry North Carolina is a partnership between Share Our Strength, NC Serves, and Gov. Bev Perdue to end childhood hunger in the state. Recent reports indicate that more than one in four children in North Carolina do not get sufficient food. The partnership is working to address this challenge by increasing participation in School Breakfast and Summer Meals programs through pilot and awareness initiatives. Texas Launched in October 2011, the Texas No Kid Hungry Campaign is working to end childhood hunger in the state by increasing participation in School Breakfast, Summer Meals and other food and nutrition programs. The campaign is a partnership between Share Our Strength and the Texas Hunger Initiative, and brings together community organizations, corporate partners and government agencies to collaborate and find solutions to childhood hunger. Virginia No Kid Hungry Virginia brings together Share Our Strength, the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, and the office of Gov. Bob McDonnell to work towards ending childhood hunger in the Commonwealth. The campaign s first priority is to increase awareness and participation in the Summer and Afterschool Meals programs. Washington End Childhood Hunger Washington is an initiative of the Children s Alliance and Share Our Strength. Its mission is to advance a statewide campaign to end childhood hunger through policy change, collaborative programming, strategic funding and awareness building. The Partnership focuses on increasing participation in Summer Meals and School Breakfast programs. Washington, DC In 2006, the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation s Capital--a collaborative effort of D.C. Hunger Solutions, the Food Research and Action Center, and Share Our Strength--launched a 10-Year Plan to End Childhood Hunger in the Nations Capital. The Partnership works to increase Summer Meals program participation. Tackling Summer Hunger 20

26 Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit, is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. Through its No Kid Hungry Campaign a national initiative to end childhood hunger in America Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in effective federal nutrition programs; invests in community organizations fighting hunger; teaches families how to cook affordable, healthy meals; builds public-private partnerships to end childhood hunger at the state and city level; and mobilizes individuals to take action. Working closely with the culinary industry and relying on the strength of its volunteers, Share Our Strength hosts innovative culinary fundraising events and develops pioneering cause marketing campaigns that support No Kid Hungry. For more information, visit The Arby s Foundation is a proud partner of Share Our Strength s No Kid Hungry Campaign. Since 1986, Arby s has been doing good work in the communities they serve every day. The Arby s Foundation is the charitable arm of Arby s Restaurant Group, Inc. and works together with AFA Service Corporation (Arby s Franchise Association), Arby s suppliers, employees and customers to support the Foundation s mission to end childhood hunger in America, because every child deserves to learn, play and grow. Arby s is partnering with Share our Strength and the No Kid Hungry Campaign to help end childhood hunger in America by 2015 and ensure all children in America have access to wholesome meals every day. For more information, please visit This report was made possible by the generous support of the Arby s Foundation. NOKIDHUNGRY 1730 M Street NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC Strength.org