Katherine Van Steenburgh
Manager, Hinges of Hope
Share Our Strength
Katherine Van Steenburgh manages the Hinges of Hope program at Share Our Strength. Through the Hinges of Hope experiential learning trips, Share Our Strength is raising awareness of childhood hunger in America and the innovative solutions that will end it.
Katherine grew up in Houston, Texas. In 2005 she graduated from film school at the University of Southern California, worked for the writing staff of ABC’s Grey Anatomy. In 2006, her desire to serve in a third world county led her to Managua, Nicaragua. There she worked with Manna Project International in the city dump community, LA Chureca. Managua is still her home away from home. After that time in Nicaragua, she moved to Washington, DC with a desire to combine storytelling and non-profit work. For the last two years, at Share Our Strength, she has been able to lead Hinges of Hope trips and help tell the story of hunger in America. She has recently relocated to Louisville, KY.
Besides storytelling, anything imaginative, and photography, she also loves making pies, gardens, and hiking up waterfalls.
Posts By Katherine Van Steenburgh on Strength.org
- New Standards Good in Theory, But Will Kids Eat Their Vegetables? [ No comments]
- February 1, 2012
Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama and the USDA announced new nutrition standards for school meals. These changes mean more fruits and vegetables and less fat and sodium for school food. You might be saying to yourself, that’s great in theory, but will kids really eat the healthy food?
Tags: no kid hungry, nutrition, usda standards - New USDA Guidelines for School Food: Can They Be Met? [ No comments]
- January 27, 2012
For the first time in 15 years, the USDA has updated and improved the nutritional guidelines for school food.
Tags: food guidelines, healty food, michell obama, nutrition, usda - Breakfast in Mr. Beard's Classroom [ No comments]
- October 13, 2011
Does in-classroom breakfast really make a difference? I know a classroom of 7th graders who would say, “YES”. This year, Robert Morehead Middle School in Pine Bluff, AR started in-classroom breakfast and it’s been a big success.
Tags: arkansas, no kid hungry - Kids For Kids [ No comments]
- October 7, 2011
“I think every child has the right to food”
Tags: arkansas, no kid hungry - Kids Say the WISEST Things… [ No comments]
- August 17, 2011
Last week in Colorado during the summer meals road trip, I was reminded again how wise kids are. It’s amazing how easy it is to lose site of the wisdom of children. Kids perceive, know, and understand things that many times, we can miss
Tags: colorado, no kid hungry, summer meals - Cooking Chicken With Cooking Matters Colorado [ 1 comment]
- August 17, 2011
During just one Cooking Matters class in Longmont, CO, I learned the answer to all of these questions and more
Tags: colorado, cooking matters, summer meals - Summer Sites on the Front Range: 3 Stories of Needs Being Met [ 2 comments]
- August 17, 2011
Last week, I met a future veterinarian, monkey trainer, doctor, teacher, football player, fireman, and a comedian. On the summer meals road trip in Colorado, I had the chance to meet and talk to many of the kids participating in summer meals this summer and one thing we talked about was what they want to be when they grow up. Part of the No Kid Hungry Campaign is working to make sure those dreams come true.
Tags: colorado, no kid hungry, summer meals - Lofty Goals + Clear Next Steps = Unprecedented Results [ No comments]
- July 29, 2011
It is a lofty dream to think that a group of individuals could end childhood hunger in a state or in a nation or in the world. And sometimes, the grandeur of this goal can be overwhelming. However, at the Hinges of Hope in Little Rock, the massive vision of ending childhood hunger seemed to shift into grasp as the group was charged with three tangible action items that (if taken) will result in significant change for the children of Arkansas.
Tags: arkansas, no kid hungry, summer - Unsung (Hunger) Heroes [ No comments]
- July 28, 2011
Israel Bissell, Avery T. Oswald, Philo Taylor Farnsworth, and James Armistead. Can you guess what this group has in common? Any of their names ring a bell?
Tags: arkansas, chind hunger, heroes, summer meals - Coming Together to Bear Witness to the Reality of Hunger in Arkansas [ 2 comments]
- July 22, 2011
On Tuesday, several Share Our Strength staff members were in Little Rock, Arkansas leading a Hinges of Hope tour sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc. This event engaged Walmart, Governor Mike Beebe, The First Lady of Arkansas, Arby’s, and state/federal legislators and was a unique opportunity to bear witness to the reality of hunger in Arkansas and discuss how this group of leaders can help feed more kids in Arkansas.
Tags: arkansas, hinges of hope, no kid hungry - Amber and Adrianne [ 2 comments]
- July 7, 2011
Do you know anyone with that contagious flicker in their eye? In New Mexico last week I had the opportunity to meet two sisters that both have that infectious glow and energy. They are full of life and spunk, and I wish everyone reading this (and everyone really) could meet Amber and Adrianne and witness their spark and their story.
Tags: new mexico, summer meals - Cindy’s List of Barriers from New Mexico [ 3 comments]
- July 6, 2011
Last week, the Share Our Strength Summer Meals Road Trip stopped in New Mexico to visit summer meals sites that we support. It was a powerful and eye-opening trip. Meghann, the No Kid Hungry Campaign Manager in New Mexico, was our guide and we visited 7 places over the course of two days. Our team will be sharing stories and photos from this trip over the next few days, but first I wanted to share a part of the trip that captures the challenges facing New Mexico.
Tags: no kid hungry, summer meals - SNAP Benefits Families and the Local Economy [ No comments]
- June 13, 2011
The Arkansas No Kid Hungry Campaign set two priorities for the first year of the partnership: increase participation in summer meals and get more eligible Arkansas residents enrolled in SNAP. SNAP, in case you’re not familiar, is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
Tags: Arkansas, No Kid Hungry, SNAP, state partnerships, summer meals - More Kids Are Being Fed In Arkansas This Summer Because of the No Kid Hungry Campaign [ No comments]
- June 10, 2011
Our first stop on the summer meals road trip was to the great state of Arkansas! Less than a year ago, Governor Mike Beebe took a stand against childhood hunger in Arkansas and joined with Share Our Strength and the AR Hunger Alliance to form the Arkansas No Kid Hungry Campaign.
Tags: Arkansas, no kid hungry, summer meals - Want to Go on a Road Trip?! [ No comments]
- June 10, 2011
Summer is (almost) here! Goodbye bitter winter and so long allergy ridden spring. Hello summer and its warm afternoons, sunshine, and long days. I have always loved summer and would take 90 degrees over the cold of winter any day. But in my time working at Share Our Strength I have learned about a different side of summer- a side that is hidden to many and a side that desperately needs all of our attention.
Tags: summer meals - Teenage Entrepreneurs That Any Smart Business Leader Would Hire [ No comments]
- December 20, 2010
Share Our Strength is a proud supporter of the Rise and Shine Co-Op program run out of the Florence de George Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach. A group of extremely impressive teenage entrepreneurs have created a successful Food Co-Op business that helps provide fresh affordable food to families who struggle to have enough.
Tags: entrepreneurship, Hinges of Hope, teenagers - Migrant Farmers Harvest Our Fields, But Struggle to Have Enough to Feed Their Families- A Paradox Worth Changing [ No comments]
- December 17, 2010
Share Our Strength's Katherine Van Steenburgh writes about the migrant farmer's struggle with hunger and visiting Belle Glade and Pahokee, to meet with community leaders and Share Our Strength partners, to learn to help end child hood hunger in this part of Florida.
Tags: florida, Hinges of Hope - We're Visiting Partners in Florida Today [ 1 comment]
- December 9, 2010
Today, we're back in Palm Beach County, Florida where we’re joined by 38 community leaders and Share Our Strength supporters. Learn about the tour, which is part of Share Our Strength’s experiential learning Hinges of Hope events.
Tags: florida, hinges of hope, no kid hungry - Wrapping Up the Summer Meals Tour of 2010 [ No comments]
- September 1, 2010
Our No Kid Hungry Summer Meals Tour wraps up with a look back on the places we visited and the inspiring people we met along the way.
Tags: no kid hungry, summer meals - Taco Salad with the San Diego Unified Schools District -- A Model Summer Program [ No comments]
- September 1, 2010
On their last stop in the Summer Meals tour, out staff visits the San Diego Unified Schools District and finds a model summer program. Katherine Van Steenburgh tells us why the program is so successful.
Tags: california, no kid hungry, summer meals - Summer Meals in Los Angeles's Koreatown [ 1 comment]
- August 23, 2010
The most recent leg of our Summer Meals Tour visits the Koreatown Youth Community Center in Los Angeles.
Tags: california, no kid hungry, summer meals - A Hollywood Cooking Class for Kids and Their Moms [ 3 comments]
- August 20, 2010
The last leg of our Summer Meals Tour visits sunny Southern California, where we take part in a class that teachers parents and kids about healthy cooking and nutrition.
Tags: Cooking Matters, event, no kid hungry, Operation Frontline, summer meals - Every Child Deserves a Hunger Free Summer [ 1 comment]
- July 12, 2010
Our Summer Meals Tour continues in South Florida, where we meet some children who remind us of the moxie needed to end childhood hunger.
Tags: grantees, no kid hungry, summer meals - A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Summer Meals [ No comments]
- July 1, 2010
In the next installment from the road, Share Our Strength’s traveling team goes behind the scenes at a food bank in Alabama and learns how complex and well-choreographed a summer meals operation must be.
Tags: grantees, No Kid Hungry, summer meals - Fighting Hunger When All the Numbers Are Against You [ No comments]
- June 29, 2010
In the third installment from the road, Share Our Strength's traveling team reports on summer meals in Mississippi, home to the nation's highest rate of food insecurity and the highest rate of poverty.
Tags: grantees, No Kid Hungry, poverty, summer meals - Summer Meals Making a Difference: Take a Virtual Road Trip with Us [ No comments]
- June 21, 2010
In the coming weeks, a team from Share Our Strength will visit summer meals sites throughout the country, interviewing the community leaders and Share Our Strength partners who fill the critical role of making sure hungry kids receive healthy meals while school is out.
Tags: grantees, No Kid Hungry, partners, summer meals - A First Class Breakfast [ No comments]
- April 3, 2010
When I don’t eat breakfast, I am moody; I can’t focus, and I get very tired. We all have negative reactions to missing breakfast and so do kids who don’t...
Tags: childhood hunger, Hinges of Hope, school breakfast - The Lifelong Effects of Hunger [ No comments]
- April 2, 2010
Guest blogger Ruth Burrell, Executive Director of Kids’ Meals, Inc., recently posted about how Kids Meals, Inc. in Houston, Texas is bringing healthy lunches everyday to kids ages 0-5. Share...
Tags: childhood hunger, hinges of hope, infants and toddlers - Seeing My Hometown Through a New Lens [ No comments]
- March 24, 2010
One of the children who is served by Kids Meals every day. Last week, I traveled with three other members of the Share Our Strength team to Houston, Texas,...
Tags: childhood hunger, education, school breakfast - Houston Schools Set A Standard For School Breakfast [ No comments]
- February 15, 2010
The Houston Independent School District is in the process of implementing the largest in-classroom breakfast program in the country. HISD’s new superintendent, Dr. Terry Grier, is leading the way to...
Tags: childhood hunger, houston, school breakfast - Food Network Team Gives Back In Pounds [ 1 comment]
- December 19, 2009
Last week, 30 Food Network volunteers participated in a day of service lead by Share Our Strength at the Food Bank for New York City. The team packed over 4,000...
Tags: food network, share your season - 6 Faces of Hunger [ No comments]
- December 19, 2009
Palms for Life hosted a film contest this year calling for short film entries that capture faces of hunger in America. The finalist films are titled: The Popeye Project, 3...
Tags: films, social media - Addressing Hunger in Our Schools [ No comments]
- November 23, 2009
Last week, the USDA released that nearly 17 million children in the US are at risk of hunger each year. That is one out of every five kids. Or five...
Tags: classroom, hunger, teachers - Hunger is Closer Than You Think [ No comments]
- September 25, 2009
If you think you don’t know a teacher who sees hunger in their classroom, take a closer look. My colleague has a friend, Amanda, who teaches the 5th grade in...
Tags: classroom, hunger, teachers - NYC Teachers Talk about Hunger in their Classrooms [ 5 comments]
- September 20, 2009
You may have heard that Share Our Strength is collecting stories from American teachers about hunger in the classroom. Here is the latest from the project....
Tags: classroom, hunger, school, school breakfast, school lunch, teachers - Hunger in America’s Classrooms [ 1 comment]
- September 11, 2009
Teachers have an important story to tell about childhood hunger in America. Through Hunger in America’s Classrooms: Share Our Strength’s Teacher Report, we are sharing those stories with America. Over...
Tags: classroom, hunger, school, school breakfast, school lunch, teachers - Toledo's Almost Abandoned Beauty [ No comments]
- September 8, 2009
Last month, as we set out on a Hinges of Hope trip in Toledo, we couldn’t drive our rental car more than 100 yards without passing a boarded up abandoned...
Tags: hinges of hope, recession, Toledo Grows
