Collaborating to Put an End to Childhood Hunger in Colorado
Posted by Karla Maraccini on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
In an effort to ensure that children around the state of Colorado have access to adequate, nutritious food year round, Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO) strongly supports the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. This initiative, spearheaded by the USDA’s Summer Food Services Program, gives testimony to the increased capabilities of a collaboration when compared to an individual organization. In Alamosa, this fact is depicted most by the daily provision of free summer meals for local children, administered by the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley. To show his support for the initiative, Governor Hickenlooper visited the Club to speak to the severity of childhood hunger. As he shared an exciting and chatter-filled lunch with more than 150 children at the Club, it was easy to see the significant impact that the Summer Food Service Program is having on this community.
Located in Alamosa, the nucleus of the most impoverished region in Colorado, the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley provides free, daily breakfast and lunch for all children who are able to attend. Many of these children rely on free or reduced lunches during the school year, but as summertime approaches, food security becomes an issue of grave importance. Along with the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley, Governor Hickenlooper also recognized the contributions of the other partners in this effort, Hunger Free Colorado, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization devoted to ending hunger in the state, Share Our Strength, a national non-profit that mobilizes individuals and industries to fight hunger, and the various foundations, volunteers, and community leaders who contribute time and resources to ensure that children receive healthy and nutritious foods.
The collaboration among Colorado state government, local nonprofits, federal agencies, and the surrounding community demonstrates how effective a multi-faceted approach can be in developing strategies to address even the most enduring issues. Each member of the partnership plays a unique role in ensuring that these children can look forward to breakfast and lunch every day during the summer. The Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley garners strong local support and provides facilities and volunteers to fuel the continuation of the program. The Alamosa community has been especially supportive of the initiative, evidenced by the overwhelming turnout to hear Governor Hickenlooper speak. Joining the children were numerous members of the community, including the mayor of Alamosa, local County Commissioners, representatives from the local Department of Human Services, Boys and Girls Club board of director and volunteers, and the Alamosa Sheriff’s Department. The collaborative effort displayed by the Alamosa community is also mirrored at the state and national levels to ensure that the Summer Food Service Program has the necessary resources to continue providing healthy, adequate meals to deserving children.
The Summer Food Service Program exemplifies the ability of several entities to create a lasting impact by recognizing their collective influence. This particular collaboration addresses a pressing need in the community, by focusing on the strengths of each contributing organization. This joint approach not only ensures that children in Alamosa are continuing to eat healthy, satisfying meals, but also provides a successful practice for organizations around the country to emulate. No matter the positive intentions and desires of a single organization, it would have been essentially impossible to develop a program as comprehensive and thorough as the Summer Food Service Program. By combining the contributions of each organization, this effort is making considerable strides in guaranteeing that children never have to face the uncertainty of their next, healthy meal.
July 12, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: Boys & Girls Club, colorado, USDA
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