Summer Food Program

Nourishing Bellies and Bodies
One-in-three Blaine County students qualify for free or reduced meals during the school year. Recognizing that these children most likely do not receive enough nutrition during the summer vacation, The Hunger Coalition and the Blaine County School District started the Lunch Connection – Nourishing Bellies and Bodies, a free summer food program. Over 6,000 free meals were served to children during the first year!

This year, Lunch is served daily at Woodside Elementary from 11-12 pm, Monday – Friday until August 14th. Children ages 1-18 are welcome to come for nutritious lunches. There is no need to qualify or be enrolled in summer school. Adults too can partake of these lunches for only $3.25.

In addition, from June 8th through July 16th, free, kid-oriented activities will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays by the Environmental Resource Center and Bellevue Public Library.

On July 20th, summer school begins and hot breakfasts will also be available Mondays through Fridays from 8-9 am. This meal is also open to all. The summer food program concludes on Friday, August 14th.

The Hunger Coalition's new Mobile Food Bank came in handy this week when they got a call from organizers at the Special Olympics World Games. As the games drew to a close, unused food was donated to local charities. The Hunger Coalition loaded their mobile food bank van and distributed it to the various agencies providing food relief. The Coalition teamed up with Ketchum Community Dinners to get the food to agencies like St. Luke’s Center for Community Health, the Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Blaine County Senior Center. Souper Supper was also contacted and offered food.

“It felt good to be able to feed so many and to make sure the food got put to good use,” said Jeanne Liston, Executive Director of The Hunger Coalition. Michael Hobbs of Ketchum Community Dinners also took time out of his work day to help load the mobile food bank and distribute the food. His organization provides hot meals to the community out of the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood each Wednesday evening.

Backpack Club Grows

The Hunger Coalition's Backpack Club was initiated in the fall of 2008 and continues to gain momentum weekly. Donated backpacks are stuffed full of food and sent home with chronically hungry children or those in the midst of a family crisis on Fridays . The backpacks ensure anonymity since no one has to know what's inside. Students receive 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 snacks in child-friendly, shelf stable food that they can prepare on their own. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to this program from school social workers, students and parents alike. As of January 30, we are providing over 100 backpacks per week!

Volunteers stuff backpacks each Thursday and they are taken to the schools' social workers each Friday morning. Backpacks are being provided to all schools in the Blaine County School District.

Festival of Trees-November 2008

The Hunger coalition decided to participate in The Festival of trees this year. We felt it was important to show our support for other important causes in our community. The Festival of Trees is an annual fundraiser for The Senior Center.

I recruited a fabulous committee of four creative women, and our little elf, three month old Drake Lovlien! Kat Latham, Patty Gilman, Tonya Schneider, Maya Lovlien and myself came together to dream up a theme that would catch the spirit of the Hunger Coalition. We chose to take on the challenging task of making almost all our ornaments from scratch! We recycled cans, used wheat donated from a local garden, and wrapped
small cereal boxes in bright colored gift wrap and ribbon. Gail Kearns donated a variety of gorgeous food themed ornaments and lights. Patty used a handful of the donated ornaments to create a festive picnic themed tree skirt.

When we finally came together on the 19th to decorate our tree, we spent almost four hours fussing over every last detail. Tonya built the most elaborate tree topper in the room. She created a star frame out of thick wire and wrapped the entire thing with bunches of wheat. Once we figured out how to attach this giant to the top of the tree, it became a quite a show stopper!

On the day of the auction, our tree sold to a woman who ended up donating our tree to The Botanical garden, where it will be displayed for the Holiday season. What a great way to kick off the holiday season!

Thanks,
Naomi

Community Fast - October 22nd

The Hunger Coalition hopes to increase citizens' awareness of hunger and encourage compassion for the hungry during October's Hunger Awareness Month. We are asking individuals to try stepping into the shoes of a hungry person for a few hours by skipping a meal on Monday, October 22, or even fasting for the entire day. We encourage those who do to write about their experience with hunger here.

Testimonials

Here are some testimonials The Hunger Coalition has received from food recipients. If you have a testimonial to add, please do so.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Hunger Coalition blog. We hope to collect comments and testimonials on hunger issues in our Valley here. Please use this space to share your experiences and opinions.
Thanks!
The Hunger Coalition