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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER: JULY 2005 ISSUE
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FEEDING HUNGRY MINDS AND BODIES®
BY DEANNA J. PUTMAN, CHILDREN’S HUNGER ALLIANCE
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Would you like to see the students enrolled in your school improve their attendance, have fewer headaches and stomach aches in the morning, have less discipline referrals to the office, improve their attention spans in class, increase their proficiency scores? You can see positive results in all of the above areas by implementing a USDA School Breakfast Program or by increasing participation in your current meal program. If you operate a charter school in Ohio, Children’s Hunger Alliance can help you improve the nutrition environment in your building!
At Children’s Hunger Alliance, we know that a hungry child cannot learn, and an uneducated adult cannot earn; so we are trying to change that—working with one charter school at a time. Charter schools in Ohio were invited to regional open forums showcasing charter schools with successful breakfast programs. The cities of Toledo, Dayton, Cincinnati, Akron, and Columbus played hosts to these meetings. Schools had the opportunity to witness breakfast service in action and learn more about the untapped resource from USDA reimbursements that many charter schools needlessly go without.
Children’s Hunger Alliance is available to meet with your school and work together to implement a breakfast program or to ensure that your current program is receiving the highest reimbursement possible. This is achieved by maximizing the number of free and reduced-price meal eligible children participating and by making certain that breakfast is available to all students. Taking full advantage of your USDA reimbursements for breakfast and lunch helps to ensure that your school maintains a healthy bottom line as well as healthy students!
By evaluating your free and reduced rate you may also be eligible for a No-Cost Breakfast program. No-Cost Breakfast programs offer meals to all children at no charge—regardless of income level. Buildings successful with this program are still able to, at the minimum, break even because participation rates increase significantly and bring in more USDA dollars. The additional reimbursement income usually offsets the extra production and food costs. When every child eats at no cost, it is impossible to distinguish them into income categories; so the social stigma attached to the program is removed—and you are left with happy students enjoying a nutritious breakfast together! Competition for students can be fierce in today’s market and innovative USDA meal programs can give you a recruitment edge—especially when the local public school districts are not as forward-thinking in the realm of child nutrition and health.
Based on data from the Ohio Department of Education, Children’s Hunger Alliance’s partnership with charter schools is a success. Through our alliance with the Ohio Department of Education, more charter school students are eating breakfast now than ever before. Soon, Children’s Hunger Alliance will begin collaborating with John Rothwell and Steve Ramsey of the Ohio Charter School Sponsors’ Institute to ensure we continue to make gains toward our goal to feed all Ohio charter school students a tasty, nutritious breakfast. The following is a showcase of schools we have worked with that have successfully increased breakfast participation:
Our staff is also available to assist your school with nutritious snacks for after school programs and summer meals for those buildings offering summer intervention programs or other structured activities. If you would like more information on Children’s Hunger Alliance and the Meal Connection Initiative, please contact Charlie Kozlesky at 1.800.227.6446 ext. 221 or ckozlesky@childrenshungeralliance.org. Visit our website www.childrenshungeralliance.org.
Deanna Putnam, Community Engagement Manager
Children’s Hunger Alliance
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