Colorado’s Plan to End Childhood Hunger
Posted by Josh Wachs on Monday, July 12, 2010
Yesterday we published a first-hand report from the National Governors Association where a two-hour session was devoted to issues of childhood hunger and nutrition.
One of the highlights of the session was Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s remarks. Governor Ritter – an important partner of this organization – spoke to the nation’s governors about Colorado’s plan to end childhood hunger by 2015. He also shared some successes from the first few months of their campaign, including a 50% increase in summer meals sites and an increase in meals served. And this was all achieved with no investment of state funds.
It’s a great example of how our partnerships with states and localities are producing tangible results. Ritter’s full remarks from the event, with additional details, are included below.
Remarks from Governor Bill Ritter at the National Governors Association:
We have been very busy in Colorado. We actively partnered with a statewide nonprofit organization, Hunger Free Colorado, and the national nonprofit, Share Our Strength (SOS). The President of Share our Strength Bill Shore is with us today. Bill, please stand for a moment to be recognized.
He has been a great partner bringing resources and best practices to Colorado. I know he is eager to work with other states as well.
With our partners, we launched the Colorado Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. We formed a statewide coalition with 3 important 2010 goals:
- increase the number of children participating in the Summer Food Service Program;
- increase the number of children participating in the School Breakfast Program; and
- develop and execute a specific and measurable plan to end childhood hunger by 2015 in Colorado.
The Campaign immediately launched an aggressive outreach and marketing campaign to expand the summer meals program. And just like a political campaign, we are using posters, and flyers, and PSAs, and even robo-calls to parents. In just a few short months these efforts resulted in a 50% increase in the number of sites, and an increase in the number of meals served.
Governors, we haven’t invested any state funds to make this happen. We are, however, using federal dollars more creatively and effectively. In fact, we’re one of 4 states using TANF funds to support expansion of summer meal programs. Our goal is to serve 10,000 more kids this summer, and for the first time in Colorado serve more than one million meals. Based on the number of calls to our new state toll free hotline, visits to our website, and reports from the field, Colorado is well on the way to reaching our goal.
We’re also excited to soon launch a School Breakfast Challenge, modeled after a successful effort in Michigan. I’ll challenge school principals across the state to increase the number of students eating a healthy breakfast at school and the Campaign will provide the tools and technical assistance to help them succeed.
Finally, we’re making sure that families and children know how to make healthy food choices, so we’re working with Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline program in Colorado. Operation Frontline is a groundbreaking nutrition education program that teaches families how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a tight budget. I’m proud of our work and progress.
Photo source: Associated Press
July 12, 2010 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: government, no kid hungry, state partnerships
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