What will it take to end childhood hunger in Ohio, and how do we address it in the summer when the need is highest?
At Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA), we provide meals to children right where they are — in childcare, after school, over weekends, and during the summer — while also increasing participation in school breakfast and awareness of other resources. In 2024, we provided 10.8 million nutritious meals to over 160,000 kids in collaboration with over 1,800 partners across Ohio.
Getting food to kids in the summer poses unique challenges. As school ends and many kids head for summer camp or vacation, around 500,000 children in Ohio lose consistent access to the food they need to grow and thrive.
The start of summer means students can’t rely on school meals and will have to travel to get food, whether they are in a summer program or not. This is an issue in both urban and rural communities, especially if there is no adult caregiver to accompany them, which is often the case. That is partly why only about 10 percent of eligible children participate in the summer meals options available through schools.
CHA has increased our Summer Meals program to try to address this need for healthy meals and simplified logistics. Over the past two years, we have almost doubled our meal sites to over 200 locations. We can’t do it all, and we want to be efficient with resources, so we partner with organizations like food banks, libraries, recreation centers, and churches to serve nutritious meals where kids already are.
Unfortunately, the Ohio General Assembly is currently poised to cut CHA’s services by 33 percent in the state budget, which would result in 1.5 million fewer meals for children. Gov. Mike DeWine had recommended flat funding for us, which would have at least kept our services steady. We will work to increase other sources of revenue, but by the time school is back, there will inevitably be less food for kids, not to mention a wait-list for our services.
Our programs represent the ultimate public-private partnership, a necessity for solving big problems. And CHA has the infrastructure and public goodwill to do this work efficiently. If we continue with current federal support (child nutrition programs have mercifully not yet been cut) and increase our services by 5 percent per year over the next 10 to 15 years, we could see an Ohio where every child has a nutritious meal every day. This gives me hope that we can achieve and sustain our goal. Honestly, I can see it — because the infrastructure is there. The partners and supporters are there. We just need consistency and determination to get the job done and set children up for a lifetime of nourishment!
Whose job is it to make sure every child in Ohio gets the food they need to thrive? I think it’s a group effort, with public and private leadership to help address children’s basic need for food. The resources exist, and our future depends on how we support kids across our state!
