COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Hunger
Alliance is one of 11 organizations that share the commitment to
fight hunger with Walmart and the Walmart Foundation and earlier
this year received $1.5 million grant
funding to help expand access to nutritious meals for Ohio children living in food-insecure
households.
With the USDA reporting that in 2015, 42.2 million people in
America, including more than 13 million children lived in
households at risk of struggling with hunger, the Walmart and the
Walmart Foundation grants are helping provide meals to those who
need them the most and helping students access the nutritious food
they need for focused minds - both in and out of school.
Children's Hunger Alliance is working with partners throughout
the state to expand school breakfast participation and awarded 36
grants to local school districts totaling nearly $200,000. The Walmart Foundation funds were
regranted by Children's Hunger Alliance to the following local
school districts to help tens of thousands of children access
school breakfast:
- Newark City Schools in
Licking County - $25,000 award
- Black River in Ashland County
- $15,990 award
- Southwest Licking Local Schools in Licking County - $15,000 award
- Southern Local Schools in Columbiana
County - $10,000 award
- Fremont Local Schools in Sandusky
County - $10,000 award
- Washington-Nile Local Schools in Scioto County - $10,000 award
- Northwest Local Schools in Stark
County - $10,000 award
- 29 other local school districts received awards ranging from
$1,000 to $9,000.
"No child should be trying to learn on an empty stomach. We
share Walmart and the Walmart Foundation's commitment to fighting
hunger and were excited to put the grant funding to work in
Ohio," said Mary Lynn Foster, President and CEO of
Children's Hunger Alliance. "Schools at times need financial
support to supplement their resources so they can offer every child
the chance to enjoy a healthy breakfast. Thanks to our work with
the Walmart Foundation we've been able to consult with local school
districts and support the implementation of best practices that
allow more students to participate in school breakfast."
Beyond helping to expand school breakfast, the $1.5 million grant went toward supporting a
number of additional initiatives that will ensure more children in
Ohio receive access to nutritious
meals. Children's Hunger Alliance conducted a proprietary
statewide childhood hunger assessment to guide the agency's strategic expansion into
areas where children experience low food security. Children's
Hunger Alliance also began offering the USDA's Child and Adult Care
Food Program (CACFP) to daycare centers throughout Ohio. The organization already sponsors nearly
900 in-home child care providers through its CACFP program.
Finally, in an effort to sponsor additional childcare providers and
afterschool programs, five community outreach coordinators were
hired to increase awareness of program availability and drive
community engagement around reducing childhood hunger throughout
the state.
"These philanthropic investments are the latest examples of our
long-standing commitment to hunger relief and dedication to
ensuring every family has access to healthy and affordable food in
the times and places they may need it," said Karrie Denniston, Senior Director of the Walmart
Foundation. "Collaboration and dedication are key to making a
positive impact on the issue of hunger in the U.S. and we're proud
to work with Children's Hunger Alliance and our ten other nonprofit
partners to support hunger relief and nutrition education for
families in need. Thanks to the programs our partners have
implemented, millions of children and families will have access to
the healthy food needed to support a successful school year and
beyond."
The grant awarded to Children's Hunger Alliance is one of 11
grants awarded to national nonprofit organizations totaling more
than $33 million to fund nutrition
education and meal programs for youth, and increase families'
access to fruits and vegetables through state and federal nutrition
assistance programs.
Other school districts that received funding from Children's
Hunger Alliance through the Walmart grant to increase school
breakfast participation include:
- Lima City Schools in
Allen County
- Tri-County Career Center and Federal Hocking Local Schools in
Athens County
- Carrollton EV Schools in Carroll
County
- Graham Local Schools in Champaign
County
- Greenon Local Schools and Clark-Shawnee Local Schools in
Clark County
- Bucyrus City Schools in
Crawford County
- Richmond Heights Schools,
Warrensville Heights Schools,
Cleveland Metropolitan School
District and Euclid City Schools
in Cuyahoga County
- Lancaster City Schools in
Fairfield County
- South-Western City Schools in Franklin County
- Edison Local Schools in Jefferson
County
- NorthPointe Schools in Lucas
County
- Marion City Schools and River
Valley Local Schools in Marion
County
- Meigs Local Schools and Eastern Local City Schools in
Meigs County
- Lewisville Schools in
Monroe County
- Kettering Middle School in Montgomery
County
- West Muskingum Local Schools in Muskingum County
- Tri-County North Local Schools in Preble County
- Newcomerstown Schools in
Tuscarawas County
- Van Wert City Schools in
Van Wert County
- Marietta City Schools in
Washington County
In October of 2014, Walmart announced a commitment to create a
more sustainable food system, with a focus on improving
affordability by lowering the "true cost" of food for both
customers and the environment, increasing access to food, making
healthier eating easier, and improving the safety and transparency
of the food chain. The commitment includes a goal of providing four
billion meals to those in need by 2020.
For more information about the grant awarded to Children's
Hunger Alliance visit ChildrensHungerAlliance.org.
About Children's Hunger Alliance
Founded in 1970 in
Columbus, Children's Hunger
Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to ending
childhood hunger in Ohio. The
organization's mission is to ensure children without access receive
healthy food, nutrition education and physical activity. In 2015
the organization worked with partners including childcare providers
and afterschool programs to help provide more than 5.2 million
nutrition meals and snacks to hungry children throughout
Ohio's 88 counties. Learn
more at childrenshungeralliance.org.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world
save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail
stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly
260 million customers and members visit our 11,535 stores under 72
banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries.
With fiscal year 2016 revenue of $482.1
billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates
worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability,
corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional
information about Walmart can be found by visiting
http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook
at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter
at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are
available at http://www.walmart.com and
http://www.samsclub.com.
Contact: Erica Sevilla
Director of Communications
614-643-8010
esevilla@childrenshungeralliance.org
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SOURCE Children’s Hunger Alliance