When School is Out, Children Go Hungry

Mary Pat Raimondi

Inside the Heartland

Donate 2006 Summer Kids Campaign

Your donations to Second Harvest Heartland’s 2006 Summer KidsCampaign help “fill the gap” when school lunches aren’t available.

The need for sufficient amounts of emergency food is particular-ly acute during the summer months. Families, whose low-incomebudgets are already strained by the fixed costs of shelter, utilitiesand medical care, will need more food than during the school year.“Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation, and neither do we,” saidR. Jane Brown, Executive Director of Second Harvest Heartland.Help us provide food this summer to emergency food providersserving vulnerable children and their families. Please contribute toSecond Harvest Heartland’s 2006 Summer Kids Campaign.

“When children receive regular nutritious snacks or meals, they arebetter able to attend to homework, focus and follow directions.Having meals draws children to our program and serving them

family style helps them socialize. Well fed children are relaxed andbetter able to express themselves.”

– Carmen Means-Pastor, Zoe Kids Cafe

A Publication of Second Harvest Heartland

Spring 2006

1Inside the Heartland

We look forward to summer....warm weather, long days, beaches and being out-side. But for many Minnesota children, summer can mean going without foodor not having enough to eat.

Every day when school is in session, nearly 200,000 chil-dren eat a free or reduced price lunch in Minnesota schools.During the summer, there is a huge unmet need to keep lowincome children well nourished. So where do these children go for food during the summer?

Only about 15% of these students participated in the summer feeding program last year. As forthe other 85%, no one knows if these children were eating enough to stay healthy.

Low income families already spend 25% of their income on food compared to middle income families that spend 7%. So, the loss ofschool meals makes it even harder for these families. And puts more stress on an already tight budget.

What impact does improper nutrition have on children who are frequently hungry? Studies have found that the impact is great in manykey areas of everyday life. We have learned that hungry children have greater risk of health, psychosocial and academic problems thanchildren who have enough to eat.

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Give Kids a Vacation from Hunger

Hunger in the Heartland

In 2005, Second Harvest Heartland participated in the fourthnational Hunger in America study sponsored by America’s SecondHarvest – the Nation’s Food Bank Network. The results of SecondHarvest Heartland’s Hunger in the Heartland Study provide com-

pelling insights about thefamilies, children and sen-iors served by memberfood shelves, soup kitchenand shelters in our 59-county service area.

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Some of these consequences for hungry children include:

PPoooorr HHeeaalltthh◆ More stomachaches, headaches, colds and ear infections◆ More frequent costly hospitalizations and doctor visits◆ More anemia -- lower counts of healthy red blood cellsPPssyycchhoossoocciiaall ddiissoorrddeerrss◆ Presence of irritability, aggressive and destructive behavior◆ More withdrawn and distressed◆ Trouble getting along or having friendsAAccaaddeemmiicc pprroobblleemmss◆ Do not perform as well on tests◆ More likely to repeat a grade◆ More often absent or tardy from school◆ More likely to be suspended from school

Hungry kids are fre-quently unhealthykids. Both the mon-etary and psycholog-ical costs to familiesare obvious. Butthere are tremen-dous costs for all ofour communities when children do not have adequate nutrition.We see higher healthcare costs, less return on our educational dol-lars and less productivity in the work force.

Hungry children . . . we all pay in the end.

Mary Pat Raimondi is a registered dietician and current Chair of the ADALegislative and Public Policy Committee. In 2005, she received the MinnesotaDietetic Association Medallion Award and the 2005 American DieteticAssociation award for Excellence in Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.

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2 Inside the Heartland

Virtually all households reported that

they had to make difficult choices.

Food or heat or utilities: 35%Food or rent or mortgage: 30.1%

Food or medicine or medical care: 27.2%Food or all three: 23.4%

Hungry and Food Insecure People are:

◆ FFaammiilliieess trying to make ends meet working for poverty level wages.◆ CChhiillddrreenn whose cognitive, emotional and physical development

depend on access to wholesome foods and good nutrition.◆ SSeenniioorrss on fixed-incomes with little discretionary income to

accommodate rising healthcare expenses or cost of living increases.

Profile of Households Served:

47% report paid employment is the family’s main source of income29% report their main source of income is social security80% of households earn less than $20,000 annually

Expanding to Meet the Need

Each year, about 30 million pounds of food is solicited,received and distributed by the dedicated men andwomen who operate our food bank and community

programs and deliver food throughout the metro area andalong 14 greater Minnesota and Wisconsin delivery routes.

Thirty million pounds is a lot of food, but it is not enough tomeet the emergency food needs of the nearly 170,000 peo-ple served each month by 800 member agencies in 59Minnesota and western Wisconsin counties. In fact, 31% offood shelves, 14% of soup kitchens and 50% of shelters in ourservice area report that they have had to turn people away.

Second Harvest Heartland is working in partnership withcompanies, communities, foundations and individuals toaccess enough food and resources to meet the need. We haveoutgrown our current 4,600 square feet of freezer/coolerstorage and are fundraising for a $600,000 expansion.

This expansion will allow Second Harvest Heartland to dis-tribute more high quality sources of protein including meat,eggs and dairy products; accept more frozen vegetables andmeals; and refrigerate perishable fresh produce prior to dis-tribution. Second Harvest Heartland is scheduled to breakground on the expansion in May. Once completed, our St.Paul Distribution Center will be able to handle an additional700 pallets of food. To see a detailed floor plan of the expan-sion, please visit www.2harvest.org.

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On February 22nd, over 1,200 people attended Mpls St. Paul Magazine’s Best ofthe Best Party 2006. The event raised awareness and $23,681 for hunger-relief.

Upcoming events that benefit Second Harvest Heartland

3Inside the Heartland

Donor

Highlights:

Employees at allGeneral Mills TwinCities locations con-tributed $49,131 anddonated 17,897pounds of food toSecond HarvestHeartland for theM i n n e s o t aFoodShare MarchCampaign. GeneralMills is matchingemployee contributions by donating an additional 67,000pounds of food. Thank you for your generosity and com-mitment to hunger relief.

Food and Fund Drives

Between January and March, food and fund drives held insupport of Second Harvest Heartland raised $64,222 anddonated 68,909 pounds of food. Emergency foodproviders throughout our 59-county service area thankyou, and so do we.

New Donors

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MAY 13 thru JUNE 11 2006

Friday, June 17th

WWCCCCOO RRaaddiiooMMiiddddaayy iinn tthhee PPaarrkkMears Park, Downtown St. Paul10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Tuesday, June 20th

SSooddeexxhhoo CChheeff’’ss AAssssoocciiaattiioonnHHuunnggeerr RReelliieeff CCllaassssiiccRiver Oaks Golf Course12:30 Shotgun Start

To register, call 952-883-9008 ext. 11

Shrimp

Happens

Contest

Submit ano r i g i n a ls h r i m precipe toBubba Gump Shrimp Co. inJuly and help fight hunger.Details at www.2harvest.org.

Giving Comes in Many Different Forms

Events and Fundraisers held for Second Harvest Heartland

February - April Events and Fundraisers:

Cub Foods Round-Up Winter Carnival EventMpls St. Paul Magazine Best of the Best 2006Cub Foods and Minnesota Wild in the Aisles

Wal-Mart Be Part of the Solution to End Hunger CampaignPostal Credit Union Skip-A-Pay promotion

Cities 97 SamplerLund’s Food for All

Mississippi Market Minnesota FoodShare DriveIKEA 20th Anniversary Celebration in North America

Get in Gear 10K DISH: Gourmet Fare for Hunger Relief

This is your exclusive opportunity to tour this English Cotswold home and lakeside cottage

beautifully transformed by 23 top local design firms.

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A portion of the ticket proceeds benefit Second Harvest Heartland.

Interested in volunteering at the home tour?Email: volunteer@2harvest.org or call 651-209-7939

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To double your gift – use the enclosed enve-lope, give online at www.2harvest.org or makeyour contribution at any Bremer Bank.

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NonprofitOrganization

US Postage PaidSecond Harvest

Heartland

Inside the HeartlandSpring 2006

Second Harvest Heartland1140 Gervais Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55109-2042Phone: 651.484.5117

Toll Free: 888.339.3663Fax: 651.484.1064

2harvest.org

“Inside the Heartland” is publishedfor the partners and stakeholders

of Second Harvest Heartlandthroughout Minnesota and

western Wisconsin.

Every measure has been taken toensure the accuracy of the namesand information printed in thisnewsletter. We apologize if we

have overlooked any organizationor individual.

A member of America’s Second Harvest - The Nation’s Food Bank Network and United Way

IInnssiiddee:: Otto Bremer Foundation issues challenge

grant, matching any donations – up to $50,000,

dollar-for-dollar – during the month of June.

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The face of hunger will surprise you.

Join us for a week of hunger awareness

events and activities. Details inside.

Place non-perishable food in a bag by your mailbox on May 13.