Contact: Johanna Elsemore at 202.478.6554 or jelsemore@strength.org
Washington, DC – The national anti-hunger campaign No Kid Hungry has announced its first-ever cohort of Afterschool Meals Champions, individuals from across the country who are doing phenomenal work to make sure kids are getting the nutrition they need after school. These twelve champions represent the wide array of people and organizations providing meals through the CACFP Afterschool Meals Program – from schools to food banks, faith-based organizations, YMCAs, tribal organizations and more.
The following individuals, selected through a competitive application process, will work closely with No Kid Hungry to expand access to afterschool meals by providing technical assistance, speaking on webinars and at in-person events and helping develop resources and case studies:
- Christina Alley, Senior Manager of Child Programs, Houston Food Bank (Houston, TX)
- Laura Alvarez, Food Services Director, Tolleson Elementary School District (Tolleson, AZ)
- Christa DeBoer, Nutrition Program Director, Youthprise (Minneapolis, MN)
- Patrick Doyle, Chief Operating Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area (Troy, NY)
- Cory Jackson, Director of Nutrition Services, YMCA of Western North Carolina (Asheville, NC)
- Rev. Dr. Lawrence Karow, Chief Executive Officer, UMC Food Ministry (Covington, KY)
- Samuel L. Mason III, Field Representative, Office of Food and Nutrition Services, Baltimore County Public Schools (Baltimore, MD)
- Beth Morris, Director of School Nutrition, Lynchburg City Schools (Lynchburg, VA)
- Barbara Muse, Executive Director, Bread of Life Development (BOLD) Ministries (Conyers, GA)
- Debra Queen, Director of Food and Nutrition, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Durant, OK)
- Amanda Schmitz, Social Responsibility and Community Outreach Director, Monroe Family YMCA (Monroe, MI)
- Dr. Walt Thompson, Executive Director, After School All-Stars Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
For a lot of kids in the United States, food isn’t always available when they get home in the evening. For some, school lunch may be the last complete meal they eat before returning to school the next day. Afterschool meal programs provide not just nutrition, but also the sense of security that comes with being able to count on an evening meal every day.
In addition to a supper or snack, afterschool meal programs include enrichment activities, providing kids with a safe place to go in the afternoon when parents may not be home. And this impacts kids – Research shows that attendance and graduation rates go up when students participate in afterschool programs, and offering meals encourages kids to participate in these valuable activities.
“The afterschool meals program is the fastest-growing meal program in the country, but gaps remain,” said Carolyn Wait, a senior program manager for No Kid Hungry who specializes in CACFP. “These champions are experts in the field, and we’re really excited to partner with them to innovate and expand the program in communities all across the country.”
In addition to the twelve national champions, No Kid Hungry announced their 2019 Afterschool Meals Hall of Fame recognizing the work being done by many others around the country to feed kids after school.
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 7 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org