The Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger
Ways to Help End Child Hunger in Arizona
- Educate Yourself, Your Family, Your Community [click to continue…]
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Rethink Breakfast, Help Feed Children in Need
One in five Americans, or about 60 million people, do not eat or drink anything in the morning before 11 a.m., according to a new analysis by The NPD Group; and millions more opt for nutrient-poor choices on the run. This is despite the fact that studies repeatedly show that skipping breakfast makes it nearly impossible to achieve adequate daily intakes of key nutrients.
Are you the one in those five? If so, we want to help you rethink breakfast! There are many reasons why breakfast should be a part of your day:
- Recharge your brain & body – studies show that breakfast helps you concentrate, focus and gives you energy to tackle the day. It helps kids learn and behave better in the classroom.
- Achieve & maintain a healthy weight – people who skip breakfast actually end up eating more calories throughout the day and tend to weigh more.
- Be a role model – children and teens are most likely to skip breakfast, which is devastating to their health. If you make it a priority, they will follow your lead.
- Bond with your family – although mornings can be chaotic, all you need is a few minutes to eat together so you can bond and feel good knowing your kids are getting off to a right start.
In choosing healthy options for breakfast, milk makes the meal. Milk is the most naturally nutritious drink you could have, with nine essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium and vitamin D, three nutrients that the USDA says Americans need more of. It’s also packed with protein to stay full and satisfied. Plain and simple, it’s not breakfast without Shamrock Farms milk and here’s a few quick ways you can incorporate milk into breakfast:
- Have milk with whole-grain cereal
- Make oatmeal with milk instead of water
- Make pancakes with milk instead of water
- Make a smoothie with milk and fruit
- Enjoy a glass with whole-wheat toast and almond butter
- Grab a single-serve milk and cereal bar
Kids are the population most affected by missing the critical nutrients breakfast and milk can provide. To encourage your family, and all Arizona families, to start off your day right with milk for breakfast, Shamrock Farms is celebrating National Breakfast Week by visiting Phoenix-area schools and serving milk and whole-grain cereal to kids. Our celebration is inspired by the new “got milk?” Breakfast Project campaign to help Americans change their view on breakfast. Check out their website for tons of tips and recipes for breakfast.
And we’re taking it a step further. While most vulnerable children have access to free or reduced cost breakfast at school through the school year, options are limited during the summer. In an effort to supplement summer breakfast programs, we’re hosting a Facebook “Like” drive to earn servings of milk for children in need. For every new Facebook user to “Like” Shamrock Farms from now until April 30, one 8-oz serving of nutrient-rich milk, up to 10,000 servings, will be donated to the Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, which in turn will distribute the milk to affiliated summer breakfast programs throughout the state.
If you’re not a Shamrock Farms fan on Facebook, please like us now and help us achieve our fundraising goal. And tomorrow, rethink your breakfast and make the right choice!
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Meeting the Need in Challenging Times: The Arizona Food Bank Network Conference
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (registration opens at 7:30 a.m.)
Location: Vineyard Church North Phoenix
(NE corner of Peoria & 63rd Avenues in Glendale, AZ)
No Registration Fee
RSVP Today!
This information-packed conference is a must for food banks and emergency food providers, anti-hunger advocates and organizations, the faith community, and many others. Get the latest information you need, be motivated and inspired by the efforts to serve Arizonans struggling with hunger and poverty, and network with your peers. Make plans to join us today!
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FEEDING AMERICA
Feeding America Launches Child Hunger Newsroom
February 22, 2012
Social Newsroom to Drive Conversation Around Child Hunger and Help Influencers and Media Better Understand the Issue of Child Hunger in America
Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, announced today the launch of its Child Hunger Newsroom, a new way for advocates to access, share and distribute information about child hunger. The Child Hunger Newsroom will serve as a repository for official Feeding America news and announcements, facts about child hunger and ways for social influencers like bloggers and online advocates to get involved and inform their audiences. The newsroom will also aggregate news stories and blog and social media posts about child hunger from across the United States, bringing the conversation to one convenient location.
“No child should worry about where their next meal will come from,” said Vicki Escarra, Feeding America’s President and CEO. “Nutrition is critical to children’s physical development and to their ability to concentrate and succeed in the classroom. The Child Hunger Newsroom provides the facts and information that our friends and advocates and the news media need to tell the story of child hunger in the United States and the importance of getting nutritious food into the hands of every child.”
Earlier this month, Feeding America launched its Blogger Council, a group of online hunger-relief advocates that will help spread the word about food insecurity in the United States and solutions to the problem. The Child Hunger Newsroom is a key resource for these advocates, providing information and aggregating content from across the Web. The newsroom launched with child hunger facts and comprehensive information about Feeding America’s BackPack Program, which provides food for children over weekends and school holidays.
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Join the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to learn more about how you can help feed children next summer and hear the benefits to being a part of the Summer Food Service Program!
USDA FNS 2012 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Introductory Webinars [click to continue…]
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Youth Service America (YSA) improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles. Founded in 1986, YSA supports a global culture of engaged youth committed to a lifetime of service, learning, leadership, and achievement. The impact of YSA’s work through service and service-learning is measured in student achievement, workplace readiness, and healthy communities. For more information, visit www.YSA.org. [click to continue…]
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Choosing between buying food or paying for shelter – is the grim reality for many Arizonans. The current economic conditions have put more individuals and families into distress than at any other time in our state’s history. But VSUW has a vision to turn things around. The goal is simple: end hunger in Maricopa County. Learn more here.
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Food security is defined as the access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity is a growing public health problem in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as of 2009, food insecurity affects about 17.4 million United States households (14.7% of all households) (Nord, Coleman-Jensen, Andrews, & Carlson, 2010), the highest level since the USDA began tracking food security levels in 1995. Among households with children, 8.4 million, or 21.3%, were food insecure at some time during 2009. Children raised in food-insecure households are at increased risk for a wide array of negative health outcomes including compromised immune functioning, increased risk for infections, and somatic complaints. Children raised in food-insecure households are also at increased risk for academic and socio-emotional difficulties (Cook & Frank, 2008). Household Food Insercurity Serious Concerns for Child Development
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2011 – Today, USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon invited children across America to show the country what they or their peers are doing to help end childhood hunger in their school or community by entering the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Ending Childhood Hunger Video Contest.
FNS is looking for original student videos of two minutes or less that show creative ways they or their peers are tackling the problem of childhood hunger or an innovative idea they have that would contribute to the goal of ending childhood hunger in America. The winning videos will be showcased online and will serve to inspire students across the country to take action on the issue of childhood hunger.
“If we want to build our nation for the future then we need to make sure our kids are healthy and strong today,” said Concannon. “We can start by ending childhood hunger and working to make sure all of our kids have the nutrition they need. We are excited to learn what valuable ideas kids across America have to contribute to addressing this need that touches the nation’s most important resource – our children.”
USDA’s most recent data shows that while in most households, children were protected from substantial reductions in food intake, children experienced very low food security in about 386,000 households (1 percent of households with children) in 2010. In these households, one or more children do not get enough to eat – they had to cut the size of their meals, skip meals, or even go whole days without food at some time during the year.
To tackle this challenge, last year FNS launched the Ending Childhood Hunger initiative, which included a Stakeholder Guide of ideas about what people can do locally to reduce hunger, an online commitment drive encouraging people to commit to taking a specific action to reduce hunger locally, and a volunteer portal on serve.gov/endhunger.
The video contest launched today as part of Hunger Action Month, is yet another way for communities to engage in the issue and inspire others around the country to act. The contest is open to students from first through twelfth grade. FNS judges will determine the top 12 finalists in three categories: elementary, middle/junior high, and high schools. The public will vote on the finalists to determine the top two winners in each category. Winners will be promoted through various FNS channels including the FNS website, the USDA blog, local and national press releases, Facebook, Twitter, a national webinar, and the FNS Outreach Coalition annual meeting. Videos must be two minutes or less and meet other contest criteria, and be submitted no later than Oct. 21, 2011. For additional information and details on contest rules, please visit the contest webpage at http://endhunger.challenge.gov.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs, including the National School Lunch Program; the School Breakfast Program; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; and the Summer Food Service Program. Taken together, these programs comprise America’s nutrition safety net.
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During the first Arizona Hunger Action Week on Sept. 12-18, 2011, individuals, groups, nonprofits, businesses, schools and the faith community are called to join forces and fight hunger in communities throughout Arizona. It’s easy to get involved and make a difference! [click to continue…]
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Summer is in full swing, and it’s time for some healthy competition! Around the country, local organizations from churches to community centers are busy serving meals to kids through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a federally-funded program that provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need throughout the summer months when school is not in session. [click to continue…]
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by Brandon Boatman, CDM, CFPP
In 2010, usage of the Salt River Food Distribution Program (SRFDP) was at an all-time high. Although emergency demand has steadied during fiscal year 2011, the SRFDP is still seeing an average increase in usage of 11 percent, making 2011 a new all-time high. More staggering is the fact that between 2008 and 2010, the annual usage of the SRFDP has increased by 70 percent. [click to continue…]
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FRAC Releases New Analysis of Gallup Data on Food Hardship through 2010, with Rates for the Nation, Regions, States, 100 Large Metropolitan Areas, and Every Congressional District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Adach, 202-986-2200 x3018
Washington, D.C. – March 3, 2011 – Nearly one in five Americans struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families in 2010, according to a new report (pdf) released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). The report also reveals the extent of this struggle through 2010 in every congressional district and 100 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas (MSA), providing a unique up-to-date examination of how millions of American households in every part of the country continue to face a struggle with hunger. [click to continue…]
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States are currently facing unprecedented challenges. Budgets are shrinking at the exact moment that the needs of residents, and particularly low-income and unemployed residents, are greatest. It will take both states and residents some time to fully recover. The times necessitate well-thought-out policy choices that most effectively take advantage of existing resources. Ideally, solutions developed during times of limited resources will inform the best use of more plentiful resources when times are good again. [click to continue…]
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FRAC Statement: Release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Congress has required that the Dietary Guidelines are revised every five years to provide evidence-based guidance to promote health, reduce chronic disease risk, and reduce obesity prevalence among Americans two years of age and older. They serve as the foundation for federal nutrition programs and educational efforts – directing, for example, what is served in school meals, offered in the WIC food package, and included in SNAP/Food Stamp educational materials. [click to continue…]
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YSA will award 100 Sodexo Youth Grants of $500 each to support youth-led service projects in the United States that address the issue of childhood hunger on Global Youth Service Day (April 15-17, 2011.) We’re looking for projects that engage your peers, friends, families, neighbors, Sodexo employees, and other community members in creative, youth-inspired solutions to ending childhood hunger in your community. [click to continue…]
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The brochure clearly explains all FNS programs that consumers apply to directly, and it gives them basic information to identify which programs might be right for them. It also gives basic next steps to get them started in the application process, as well as links and toll-free numbers for more information. How To Get Food Help will be a useful tool to add to your outreach strategy. [click to continue…] |
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2011 – USDA today released the latest report that measures each State’s success in reaching children and families eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While the national SNAP participation rate was 66 percent, Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates in 2008, reports state rates varied from an estimated low of 46 percent to a high of 94 percent. [click to continue…]
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USDA and HHS Announce New Dietary Guidelines to Help Americans Make Healthier Food Choices and Confront Obesity Epidemic
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2011 — Agriculture Secretary TomVilsack and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius today announced the release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government’s evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity. [click to continue…]
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The Nogales Community Food Bank celebrated the opening of its new facility at 2636 Donna Avenue with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 9.
The food bank says its new home in a 10,000-square-foot warehouse strategically located off Produce Row allows for a more timely response to picking up donations from local produce brokers, who have traditionally been generous supporters of its efforts.
“The new location will allow the Nogales Community Food Bank to accept more donations due to the larger storage space,” Executive Director Arthur Espinoza said in a news release. “Since the Food Bank is now serving over 2,500 clients per month, the additional space will help a great deal.” [click to continue…]
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FRAC Urges States and School Districts to Employ Innovative Programs to Increase Participation in School Breakfast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; Contact: Jennifer Adach, 202-986-2200 x3018
Download the reports:
School Breakfast Scorecard (pdf)
School Breakfast in America’s Big Cities (pdf)
Washington, D.C. – January 13, 2011 – Record numbers of low-income children received school meals during the 2009-2010 school year, but the number of children eating breakfast continues to lag by much too wide a margin the number of children eating lunch. Less than half (47.2 percent) of low-income children who received school lunch also participated in the breakfast program, according to the Food Research and Action Center’s annual School Breakfast Scorecard. The Scorecard provides FRAC’s analysis of federal and state government data, plus a survey of officials. [click to continue…]
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“School Breakfast Detectives” Book Cover Contest
New this year is a design contest, where students will have the opportunity to design their own school breakfast detective in the form of a book cover. Students also title the book with a healthy eating spin e.g. “The Case of the Missing Breakfast”.
Three national winners will receive a prize pack. The local contests will run January 1, 2011 to March 11, 2011, and national entries are due March 31, 2011. Entry forms and rules. [click to continue…]
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Adach, 202-986-2200 x3018
Washington, D.C. – December 29, 2010 – New data show that in nearly every state, at least one in seven respondents reported in first half of 2010 that there were times during the prior twelve months that they did not have enough money to buy food that they needed for themselves or their family, according to the Food Research and Action Center’s (FRAC) analysis of data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. [click to continue…]
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Holidays bring to mind many things, among them, food. But what about the families struggling to put nutritious meals on their table? Just in time for the Holiday season, we have FitFoods.org, a single webpage featuring hundreds of services by local organizations and agencies addressing food insecurity. [click to continue…]
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2010 – Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services joined Sesame Workshop for their launch of a multimedia outreach initiative, “Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget,” designed to help low-income families cope with limited access to affordable and nutritious food. [click to continue…]
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For more than a quarter-century The U.S. Conference of Mayors has reported to the nation on the status of hunger and homelessness in America’s cities. The Conference’s annual surveys and reports are the subjects of national news reports, and their contribution to raising national awareness of these problems is widely recognized. Conference members appreciate the fact that, in recent years, this effort has been strengthened substantially by a partnership with Sodexo, a world leader in food and facilities management. [click to continue…]
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Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Statement on Passage of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued the following statement regarding House passage of S. 3307 “The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.”
“This is an historic victory for our nation’s youngsters. This legislation will allow USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, the chance to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children. [click to continue…]
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Wal-Mart is putting $1.5 million in your hands. You decide where it goes. [click to continue…]
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Kitchen on the Street is an Arizona based non-profit organization working to eliminate childhood hunger. Since our inception 4 years ago, we have successfully partnered with 10 schools and now serve 350 children each weekend through the Bags of Hope program. [click to continue…]
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Join a Child Nutrition “Virtual” Town Hall with:
- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
- Top Chef Tom Colicchio
- Feeding America CEO Vicki Escarra
Monday, November 15, 2:00pm-2:30pm EST
Register now at: http://www.hungeractioncenter.org/register_vth.aspx [click to continue…]
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Here’s any easy way to connect your networks to the Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger.
Place our widget on…
- Your blog.
- Your website.
- Your Facebook profile.
- Just about anywhere on the Internet!
Please help spread the word about all of the community efforts to End Child Hunger in Arizona.
Click on the “Get Widget” tab at the bottom to get started.
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today invited States to develop and test alternative methods of providing food for low-income children in urban and rural areas during the summer. USDA is requesting applications to enhance the current Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) by testing and evaluating home delivery and food backpack programs designed to reduce hunger among children when school is out. [click to continue…]
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The Arizona Partnership to End Childhood Hunger
Ways to Help End Child Hunger in Arizona
- Educate Yourself, Your Family, Your Community [click to continue…]
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The Food and Research Action Center’s Seven Essential Strategies in the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger [click to continue…]
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.
The objectives of World Food Day are to: [click to continue…]
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Arizona Indicators is an excellent resource for educating yourself and your colleagues regarding trends in Arizona. Below you will find one example on Arizona Indicators regarding poverty. Please visit www.arizonaindicators.org to see all of the data available. [click to continue…]
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Who Are America’s Poor Children? Examining Food Insecurity Among Children in the United States. Excerpt from Full Report:
Fourteen million children live in poor families (that is, families with income below the federal poverty level, which is $22,050 a year for a family of four in 2009). There is a wide body of research documenting the importance of family income for children’s health and well-being. [click to continue…]
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Earning More, Receiving Less: Loss of Benefits and Child Hunger, September 2010.
New research from Children’s HealthWatch shows that increases in income that trigger loss of public assistance benefits can leave young children without enough food to eat. [click to continue…]
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge to improve school meals and the health of children across the nation through the creation of exciting new recipes for inclusion on school lunch menus. The competition – part of the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative – will draw on the talents of chefs, students, food service professionals, and parents or other community members working together to develop tasty, nutritious, kid-approved foods. [click to continue…]
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Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have committed $2 billion cash and in-kind, stepping up efforts to help end hunger in America. [click to continue…]
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will establish a People’s Garden School Pilot Program to develop and run community gardens at eligible high-poverty schools; teach students involved in the gardens about agriculture production practices, diet, and nutrition; and evaluate the learning outcomes. [click to continue…]
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USDA Encourages Schools to Take the HealthierUS School Challenge to Help Improve the Nutrition of School Children Nationwide
New Steps Taken To Make Challenge Easier and More Successful
POTEET, Texas, Aug. 23, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today encouraged schools throughout the country to participate in the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC), an initiative that helps improve the health and nutrition of children. USDA created the HUSSC to recognize schools that maintain healthy school environments by improving the quality of meals and increasing physical activity and nutrition education. The HUSSC is also a key component of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. [click to continue…]
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As he prepared to plummet more than three miles, George McGovern took stock of what he was about to do.
But without changing his mind, out the twin-engine Beechcraft he went, taking part in a tandem jump near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to celebrate his 88th birthday Monday. [click to continue…]
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Shopping at farmers markets is one of the best ways to support farms, farmers and local economies. When you buy delicious and fresh fruit, vegetables and more from your local farmers market, you are making healthy and community friendly choices. [click to continue…]
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Ruby Tuesday now donates 10% of the sales of our gourmet chocolate chip and white-chocolate and macadamia-nut cookies to Feeding America, to help feed hungry children and families. You can support “Cookies for a Cause – A Dozen Ways to Help Us Fight Hunger” by buying cookies by the dozen or half dozen in our restaurants, for take-out orders, and through our catering program. [click to continue…]
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA (7/1/2010): 24.2%, or nearly one in four Arizona children under the age of 18 in Arizona, are experiencing food insecurity according to new research released today by Feeding America and funded by the ConAgra Foods Foundation, Feeding America’s Leadership Partner in the Fight to End Child Hunger. Only Arkansas and Texas have a higher percentage of food insecure children. [click to continue…]
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Washington, D.C. – June 29, 2010 – While participation in virtually every other key federal nutrition program has grown to meet increased need during the recession, participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs fell last summer according to Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, an analysis by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). [click to continue…]
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