Feeding Indiana's Hungry Recognizes National Volunteer Week

This week, April 15-21, marks National Volunteer Week, recognizing the millions of volunteers who devote their time and efforts to making a difference in the lives of others across America. Feeding Indiana's Hungry honors the thousands of volunteers that help those at risk of hunger across Indiana.

13 percent of Hoosier households are food insecure, or at risk of hunger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  This equates to more than one million Hoosiers who are in need of assistance from the 11 member food banks of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry and the nearly 1,7000 local agencies served by the food banks, including soup kitchens, pantries, after school programs, senior programs, and others. 

According to Hunger in America 2010: Indiana State Report, 72 percent of food pantries and 52 percent of soup kitchens served by the Feeding Indiana’s Hungry network report relying entirely on volunteers and have no paid staff.  Volunteers provide around 150,000 hours of service a year to the member food banks of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, the equivalent to approximately 70 more full time employees.  In addition to helping member food banks save time and labor costs, volunteerism helps raise awareness of hunger in America and promotes community involvement in solving the problem.

“Volunteer support is indispensable in helping our member food banks serve those at risk of hunger in Indiana,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “Without the help of volunteers, many more would be in search of a meal because the 66.4 million pounds distributed by the network in Indiana last year would not all have made it to those in need.  Hoosiers can help alleviate hunger by contacting their regional food bank for volunteer opportunities in their communities and neighborhoods.  Help is always needed and tremendously appreciated.” 

Sponsor Organizations Needed for Summer Food Service Program

It's that time of year!  It's (unseasonably!) warmer, and kids all around Indiana are beginning to think about summer vacation. Except maybe the nearly 47% of Hoosier kids who receive free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program--more than one million kids statewide.  Where do they go to get a nutritious meal in the summer?

With help from sponsor organizations and the Indiana Department of Education, kids can receive free meals and snacks at locations in the community through the federal Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  Last year, the SFSP provided over 2.8 million free meals and snacks to low-income Hoosier children with the help of more than 248 sponsors.

But there still are not enough cites to meet the needs across the state.  There are no programs at all in 20 Indiana counties.

Do you work with a camp, a school, a park, organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs or YMCAs, local government or private non-profits?  You can help!

The Indiana Department of Education will host training workshops for sponsors around the state.  For additional information or to attend a workshop, please contact Marcia Yurczyk or Tina Skinner at the Indiana Department of Education.  They can be reached by phone at 317-232-0852 or 317-232-0858, or emailed at myurczyk@doe.in.gov or tskinner@doe.in.gov.  The application deadline to become a SFSP sponsor is the end of April.

March is National Nutrition Month!

In honor of National Nutrition Month, an education and information campaign promoting nutrition sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, we urge Hoosiers to reflect on hunger in our communities.  Registered Dietitians encourage all Hoosiers to "Get Your Plate in Shape" and this challenge is most difficult for those without resources to secure adequate food daily.

Right now, 1 in 6 Hoosiers is at risk of hunger. For children, the number is just one in four.  Though we cannot tell who is hungry from the clothes people wear, the jobs they work, or the color of their skin, an apple a day is out of reach for nearly 49 million Americans.  13 percent of Hoosier households lack access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Every year, food banks across the country serve millions of Americans unable to afford enough food to feed their families.  Last year alone, the member food banks of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry distributed 66.4 million pounds of food and grocery products to Hoosiers in need. Our goal is not to just fill people up with food, but ultimately with nutritious food.

Those at risk of hunger often cannot afford preventative and follow-up healthcare services. For this vulnerable population, access to nutritious foods is vital in maintaining good health. Studies show that growing children need a balance of vitamins and minerals for cognitive and behavioral development.

We would not be able to continue this critical work and provide nutritious foods without the support of Hoosier communities. Your food and fund donations to the member food banks of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry are leading our efforts in creating a hunger-free Indiana. 

Together, we can provide hope to Hoosiers in need for a better tomorrow.

Hanna Kelley, RD, CD
Executive Director, Indiana Dietetics Association

Emily Weikert Bryant
Executive Director, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry

Attorney General Zoeller Kicks off the 2012 March Against Hunger Food Drive

Attorney General Greg Zoeller has joined forces once again with the Indiana State Bar Association and Feeding Indiana’s Hungry (FIsH) for the fourth annual March Against Hunger food drive.

March Against Hunger is a friendly competition between law firms to raise the most donations – either of non perishable foods or direct monetary contributions – for Indiana’s 11 regional food banks.

"Food banks across the state have been struggling to keep up with the needs of the hungry that have increased due to the long recession," Zoeller said. "For the fourth year, I am calling upon the members of my profession to step up and do what attorneys do best - serve the interests of others. This is no time to let up so I'm doubling our efforts to include four weeks instead of two as in years past. I've been very proud of the past support by the many members of the Indiana State Bar Association and I hope for greater support this year to meet the greater need." 

In 2011, 50 law firms in Indiana and Kentucky participated in the March Against Hunger and raised more than 6,000 pounds of food and $27,574 - which combined is the equivalent of 143,986 pounds (or 72 tons) of assistance.

Zoeller presented the 2011 Attorney General’s Cup to the biggest donating firms in four categories.

• Barnes & Thornburg – Large firm
•  Fleschner Stark Tanoos & Newlin in Terre Haute - Medium firm
• Tuesley Hall Konopa - South Bend - Small firm
•  Department of Justice/Office of the US Trustee in Indianapolis - Public/Nonprofit

The categories for the 2012 March Against Hunger are:

•  Large firm (50+)
•  Medium (10-49)
•  Small and solo practitioner (1-9)
•  Public/Nonprofit

The Attorney General’s Cup will once again be presented to the firm collecting the most donations in each division.

This year's campaign will run March 1-31. Law firms can sign up to participate any time before or during the March Against Hunger.

For more information or to sign up, visit the Attorney General's website: http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2773.htm

New Survey Finds One in Five Households in Indiana Unable to Afford Enough Food in 2011

Indiana is 16^th Worst in the Nation and Not Improving

INDIANAPOLIS—20 percent of respondents in Indiana reported in 2011 not having enough money to buy food that they or their family needed at some points during the prior twelve months, according to a new report released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).  This placed Indiana at the 16^th highest rate of food hardship in the nation, and the worst in the Midwest.

This unique report provides data on food hardship – the inability to afford enough food – for every region, every state, every Congressional District and 100 of the country’s largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). For Indiana, it found that:

• In 2011, 20.3 percent of households surveyed in the state said they were unable to afford enough food at times during the year. In 2010, the same report indicated that Indiana also had 20.3 percent food hardship, but the state ranking was marginally better at 17^th worst in the nation. 
• 8 out of the 9 Congressional Districts in Indiana had 15 percent or more of their residents reporting food hardship in 2010-2011. 
  
  

“These new data show us just how much people are struggling in our communities, and underline that far too many of them are finding it a challenge to afford enough food for their families,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “These data mirror the trends of the annual report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on ‘food insecurity’, a comparable measure, and show that the situation is not improving in Indiana as it appears to have begun to in some other states.”

FRAC’s food hardship report analyzes data that were collected by Gallup and provided to FRAC. The data were gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, which has been interviewing almost 1,000 households daily since January 2008. FRAC has analyzed responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” 

“Rising food prices, continuing high unemployment and underemployment, and flat food stamp benefit allotments all contributed to the high food hardship rate in 2011,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. 

“Particularly challenging was the increase in food inflation, especially for the foods the government uses to construct the Thrifty Food Plan, its cheapest diet. Food stamp beneficiaries lost more than six percent of their food purchasing power because of this increase.”

Recent polling data, released last month by FRAC, demonstrate the broad support among Americans for the federal nutrition programs and for a stronger role by government in ending hunger. Seven in 10 voters said the federal government should have a major role to ensure that low-income families and children have the food and nutrition they need. Seventy-seven percent of voters say that cutting food stamp assistance (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) would be the wrong way to reduce government spending.

“Even in difficult times, this nation has the resources to eliminate hunger. These data show that no community in our state is anywhere close to being hunger-free, and that more must be done to solve this problem,” said Bryant. “It is time for our elected officials to tackle hunger with the zeal that the situation demands.”

The full report is available at www.frac.org

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About This Report

This report is the latest in the Food Research and Action Center’s (FRAC) series of analyses of survey data on food hardship collected by Gallup as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. It provides the most up-to-date examination of the struggle that very large numbers of American households are having affording enough food. 

Indiana Not at the Head of the Class for School Breakfast Participation

Feeding Indiana's Hungry Urges State and Its School Districts to Prioritize Efforts to Increase Participation

Indianapolis, IN – School breakfast fights hunger and improves nutrition, but Indiana served only 44.5 low-income children breakfast for every 100 that received lunch through the National School Lunch Program during the 2010-2011 school year, according to a new national report released this week. While an increase from the previous school year occurred, when only 43.5:100 received breakfast, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry urges the State of Indiana and school districts to continue to build on the progress being made and make increased breakfast participation a priority for this school year and next.

The School Breakfast Scorecard, released annually by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), measures the reach of the School Breakfast Program nationally and by state. With a ratio of 45.5:100, Indiana is below the national average of 48 low-income children in breakfast for every 100 in lunch, and well below the goal of reaching 60:100. If Indiana reached this goal, 67,722 more low-income children would start the day with a healthy breakfast and the state would gain an additional $16,386,381 in federal child nutrition funding. Three states – New Mexico, South Carolina and Vermont – and the District of Columbia reach at least 60 students with breakfast for every 100 eating lunch, demonstrating that this is eminently achievable.

“Breakfast is proven to boost test scores, improve attendance and participation, and help children start their day ready to learn,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “With these proven educational benefits, we need to be examining the barriers preventing participation and looking at ways to erase them.”

States and schools have been successful in boosting participation with the adoption of breakfast in the classroom programs, which allow students to eat the meal at their desks at the beginning of the school day. In fact, the three top performing states and the District of Columbia, which all surpass the 60:100 goal have numerous schools operating strong breakfast in the classroom programs.

“Serving breakfast in the classroom is the most successful way to increase participation, and we encourage more schools to move to this model,” said Bryant. “Not only does breakfast reduce hunger and improve education, but it also contributes to better nutrition. Children who participate in school breakfast eat more fruits, drink more milk, and consume a wider variety of foods than those who do not eat school breakfast or who have breakfast at home.”

Nationally, participation in the School Breakfast Program grew to include 9.8 million low-income children during the 2010-2011 school year, an increase of 354,000 low-income children over the previous school year. Since the 2007-2008 school year, when the recession began, the School Breakfast Program has grown by 18.6 percent, serving an additional 1.5 million low-income children a healthy breakfast each day.

About the report:
The full report, School Breakfast Scorecard, is available at www.frac.org. To measure the reach of the School Breakfast Program nationally and in the states, FRAC compares the number of schools and low-income children that participate in breakfast to those that participate in the National School Lunch Program. FRAC also sets a participation goal of reaching 60 children with breakfast for every 100 receiving lunch as a way to gauge state progress and the costs of underparticipation in the program.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Out of Reach for Many Hoosier Residents

New Report Shows 8.5 Percent of Households in Indiana Report Difficulty Accessing Affordable Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – December 15, 2011 –8.5 percent of households in Indiana reported difficulty accessing affordable fresh fruits and vegetables in the communities where they live, according to Feeding Indiana’s Hungry.  This is slightly above the national average of 8.2 percent of American households for the same 2008-2010 time frame of the study.

Much attention has been paid in recent years to whether Americans have adequate access to healthy food in their communities, and this new report by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) sheds a light on such challenges in Indiana and across the nation.

Containing data down to the congressional district, FRAC’s report – A Half Empty Plate: Fruit and Vegetable Affordability and Access Challenges in America – analyzes the answers given by hundreds of thousands of survey respondents to a question posed by Gallup-Healthways: “In the city or area where you live, is it easy or not easy to get affordable fresh fruits and vegetables.” FRAC characterizes “not easy” answers as evidence of an affordability and access challenge.

In Indiana for the 2008-2010 time period, the report found:

• 8.5 percent of people in Indiana said they were unable to access or afford fresh fruits and vegetables. The rate for households with children was 9.3 percent.
• For congressional districts in Indiana the rates ranged from a high of 11 percent to a low of 6.5 percent for all households.  See table below.

Nationally, those with household incomes less than $24,000/year reported affordability and access challenges 2.5 times more frequently than those with incomes between $60,000 and $89,999.  People who reported high rates of food hardship (an inability to afford enough food) also were more likely to say they had difficulty accessing affordable fresh fruits and vegetables in their communities.  Among people reporting poor health status, the prevalence of fruit and vegetable affordability and access challenges was four times that of people reporting excellent health status (20.0 percent vs. 5.0 percent).

“A household’s ability to access healthy food hinges on having enough resources to do so. The fact that more than 200,000 Hoosier households indicate it was not easy to access affordable fruits and vegetables shows that many are struggling with this access and affordability problem, and that it is an economic challenge at the household level,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “Supporting families’ ability to purchase healthier food items is essential to solving this challenge. That includes efforts at the federal level to improve SNAP benefits so they go further, efforts at the state level to increase outreach so more people receive these benefits, and then efforts at the community level to increase the number of outlets offering healthy food and accepting SNAP benefits. Feeding Indiana’s Hungry and our member food banks also work with farmers, producers and retailers across Indiana to increase fresh produce available to our clients to provide additional access to healthy foods.”

The full report is available on FRAC’s website at http://frac.org/pdf/half_empty_plate_dec2011.pdf.

IN Congressional District              All Households		Households with Children
1	7.7	7.4
2	8.9	10.2
3	8.2	8.4
4	7.5	7.6
5	6.8	7.3
6	11.0	11.5
7	8.5	10.7
8	9.6	10.9
9	8.4	9.3
Statewide	8.5 (28th in the nation)	9.3 (27th in the nation)

About the Report

A Half-Empty Plate contains the Food Research and Action Center’s analysis of survey data that were collected by Gallup. Gallup has been interviewing 1,000 households per day almost every day since January 2, 2008 for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project. People have been asked a series of questions on a range of topics including emotional health, physical health, healthy behavior, work environment and access to basic services. Specific to this report, people were asked, “In the city or area where you live, is it easy or not easy to get affordable fresh fruits and vegetables.”