Denise Neil
Regional Director of Children's Hunger Alliance

Formerly known as Ohio Hunger Task Force, Children's Hunger Alliance is diligently distributing resources to our city's youth, educating the public, and strategizing to alleviate hunger within Cleveland's most vulnerable asset: its youth. Cool Cleveland senior editor Tisha Nemeth-Loomis spoke with regional director Denise Neil about Children's Hunger Alliance's expansion of benefits to the needy, their partnerships with faith-based organizations, and their crusade to collaborate with businesses that engage in cause-related marketing.

Cool Cleveland: What are the first steps when it comes to identifying children in need? Once CHA has identified these children, how is nutrition monitored in them; are there ways to track their health issues?

Denise Neil: Yes, in the 2005 Hunger Report, Children’s Hunger Alliance finds that 1.2 million people in Ohio are reported hungry or at risk of hunger, 495,000 of whom are children. This means that 1 out of 6 Ohio children are going to bed hungry or at risk of hunger every night. We can break that down even further to over 66,000 children in Cuyahoga County.

These are sobering numbers; Clevelanders may not realize this is an immediate need that should be addressed openly...
Yes, and luckily USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) federally funded meal programs are available to serve the immediate nutritional needs of hungry children. Yet Ohio has trailed most states in taking advantage of available federal dollars. These programs feed children and benefit low income families by allowing them to use their limited resources to pay for other expenses such as rent and utilities. Expansion of school breakfast in public and private schools, after school meal programs and summer meal programs throughout the state was recommended by Children’s Hunger Alliance.

Does this involve partnerships with school systems, and how does this relationship work together for measurable results?
The Ohio Legislature allocated 1 million dollars per year in the FY 2004-2005 budget to the Ohio Department of Education’s biennial budget to connect USDA federal meal programs to children in need. Last year, an additional 4.2 million breakfasts and 3.7 million additional lunches were served to Ohio youth. The 12.5% increase in school breakfast participation was the fourth largest (percentage wise) in the nation! Ohio was featured in the latest Food Research Action Center School Breakfast Scorecard.

So, it does make a significant impact with measurable outcomes?
We know that a hungry child cannot learn and an unlearned child cannot learn. So it is in the greater community’s interest to help make conditions right for learning! After all, someone’s got to help foot my Social Security check! On a more serious note...Children’s Hunger Alliance has contracted with the University of Cincinnati to evaluate our expansion progress. Their executive summary stated, “The 38 million breakfasts served in 2003-2004 generated a potential contribution to the improvement of the food industry and the general economic well-being of Ohio.”

Ohio has the free and reduced lunch program for low income families, depending on their income, their children can receive free breakfast and lunch or at reduced prices, to ensure students receive at least one nutritious meal during the week. Was CHA a key player in activating this program and how is it expanding?
Children’s Hunger Alliance has been an advocate of alternative serving methods that have helped many districts increase their participation. We know that when children have the opportunity to eat in their classrooms instead of the cafeteria or multipurpose room, the numbers go up. We have also seen an increase when youth can “Grab ‘N Go” elements of a breakfast and go straight to class. This approach accounted for over 2,000 additional daily meals being served in Cleveland Municipal School District’s High Schools and Middle Schools! Another strategy that has been helpful in CMSD has been that of serving meals on the Universal program or at no charge. Since the district’s free and reduced numbers are so high, all children are offered a meal and there is no stigma of who is eating a free, reduced or full pay meal.

Euclid City Schools served an additional 250,000 breakfasts last year by systematically bringing the whole district into school breakfast. And there are several other “new starts” this year in South Euclid-Lyndhurst, Maple Heights and Bedford City Schools! Last year, Children’s Hunger Alliance also had the opportunity to advocate at the national level for reduced paperwork for the Summer Food Service Program. Ohio will add to the list of a small number of states added to this pilot, and we hope to see more children being fed in the summer as a result.

Are there specific nutritional guidelines that have to be followed with the food that's prepared?
Food service directors must structure menus according to a preset meal pattern in order to be eligible for reimbursement. For example, a reimbursable lunch will contain 1 meat or meat alternative, 2 breads or grains, 1 vegetable or fruit and milk. There are also guidelines for the number of calories, amount of fat, sugar, sodium, etc. According to USDA regulations, a school breakfast meets 1/4th of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowances) and a school lunch meets 1/3rd.

Is collaboration part of CHA’s strategy and does it work with other pre-school programs?
Collaboration is so important to us at Children’s Hunger Alliance that we had to change our name! We used to be known as the Ohio Hunger Task Force. Leaves you kinda cold, doesn’t it? After a lot of input from key stakeholders, we came up with the new name, feeling strongly about the word “Alliance.” We have no food and are incapable of doing much on our own. But in alliance with others, we can get a lot of kids fed. We started off nearly 30 years ago by sponsoring a USDA Child Nutrition Program that allows family childcare (FCC) providers to receive reimbursements for the healthy meals and snacks they serve to the children in their care. Today we work with providers in 63 counties, feeding over 10,000 children.

There is another USDA program that daycare centers can use, which is the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). We also help area daycare centers connect with this program; we're also part of a nationwide effort to better the lives of children called Action For Healthy Kids. We've worked with the city and county health departments to reach the state goals of: increasing school breakfast participation, increasing the quality of foods offered, and increasing the amount of physical activity in children’s lives.

Has CHA networked with area physicians, clinics, or churches, and how does this outreach improve the results of your programs?
Dr. James Quilty, a pediatrician at Metro Hospital is on our Northeast Ohio advisory board. He has a keen interest in nutrition and obesity. We also work closely with the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and the City of Cleveland, Department of Parks and Recreation in an effort to expand summer programming through area churches and community agencies.

For the past couple of years we have advertised the Summer Food Service Program using a stuffer that carried a 1-800 number in the Medicaid mailings. We fielded over 4,000 calls from around the state last year; all from people looking for food for their children when school is out. Our friends at Ohio Jobs and Family Services also helped with a county-wide mailing that listed all of the Cleveland simmer sites. In addition to these, we dropped off additional flyers at neighborhood clinics, churches and food pantries. We are also pleased to have Dr. Robert Murray, MD as a statewide and National spokesperson on the issue of obesity. Dr. Murray is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics of the Ohio State University School of Medicine, located at Columbus Children’s Hospital. He also is the Pediatric Medical Director for Ross Labs, a division of Abbott Labs. He completed a fellowship in Pediatric GI and Nutrition at Columbus Children’s in 1985 and has been on the faculty since that time. In recent years, Dr. Murray has worked with the Borden Center for Nutrition and Wellness at Children’s on the prevention of childhood obesity. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health and was their representative to the national Action for Healthy Kids initiative, promoting school policies that combat obesity.

Are they working with schools to identify young girls who are pregnant who need prenatal nutritional programs, so child is getting what it needs to deflect birth defects?
We don’t work specifically with this population, but they are usually connected with WIC (Women, Infants & Children) which is another USDA food program.

Recently, Cleveland was named the poorest city in the nation, and is this statistic reflected within the children CHA serves?
We have definitely seen increases in program participation; let me use Cleveland Municipal Schools as an example. Last year their enrollment went down by 4%, but their breakfast participation went up by 3% or an additional 127,477 breakfasts.

Has there been an increase in children served, and how are these demands being met?
We have started to focus on bringing charter (community schools) onto the meal programs. Several are challenged by being in facilities that don’t have kitchens, but we are making progress in seeing that all of Cleveland’s children have school meal programs.

Describe your professional background, and how has it prepared you for this career?
I started out in education and taught for 7 years in Columbus and 9 years in private international schools in Kuwait and South Korea. I then worked as a health educator at an inner city clinic in Columbus. After that I worked for the State of Ohio as Program Director at the Ohio Commission on Minority Health - I have been with Children’s Hunger Alliance since 2001. The Commission on Minority Health was set up to “ameliorate the excess morbidity and mortality” in minority communities. Most of the diseases and deaths are preventable. It's true that hunger is a contributing factor and it is also preventable.

What are some of the Cleveland chapter of CHA more significant and accomplishments?
The past school year, the average student enrollment went down 1% in Cuyahoga County. Yet, 383,408 additional breakfasts were served which represented a 6% increase. And Lake County showed a 51% increase, Lorain – 11%, and Medina - 14%.

As part of the county’s Early Childhood Initiative which has been renamed Invest in Kids, we also work with family childcare providers. This is part of our Feeding Hungry Minds and Bodies. We recognize that during the formative years children need good nutrition and age-appropriate experience and we work with a network of providers to teach them to do exactly that. We have a training and resource room in our office at the ShoreBank building on East 105th, and we also have technical advisors that conduct in-home visits.

Where does funding CHA’s funding come from, and is it sufficient for your organization's needs?
Children’s Hunger Alliance has always been serious about accountability, and takes a business approach to the operation of programs and services surrounding the issue of hunger. Completing the OANO Standards of Excellence and the Better Business Bureau’s charitable standards evaluation and receiving the certification seals serves to reinforce the high standards established by our Board of Trustees and carried out daily by our staff. Over 95% of all revenue goes to services. The majority of our funding comes from government sources, primarily the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for meal reimbursement, national and local foundations and corporations, and the United Way of Central Ohio. Special events and cause-related marketing efforts including Menu of the Month, A Taste to Remember, Lunch Money for a Day, and direct mail campaigns are additional sources of revenue. As a back up for changing economic climates, rising operational costs, and the potential for reduced funding from both government and private sources, the agency established an endowment fund through the Columbus Foundation. Proceeds from the agency’s premiere fundraising luncheon Menu of Hope benefit the fund which currently exceeds 2 million dollars. Children’s Hunger Alliance continues to strive for increased support and collaboration among the private and public sectors in our efforts to end childhood hunger in Ohio.

How do you think CHA can eliminate the challenges that are facing Cleveland’s hunger issues today?
Children’s Hunger Alliance’s mission is to break the cycle of hunger in Ohio through education, leadership, advocacy and service. It is the combination and continuation of these activities which makes a difference. Services include the USDA Child Nutrition Safety Net where we continue our work with public, private, community schools and faith-based organizations to expand use of USDA Child Nutrition programs that help meet the immediate needs of hungry children. Cleveland is part of the Big Picture by Children’s Hunger Alliance to End Childhood Hunger in Ohio campaign.

How does battling hunger generate economic growth in local communities?
During the '03-'04 school year, approximately 40,000 children in Cuyahoga County did not participate in School Breakfast. We frame that as almost $8M that did not come back to the county in the form of federal reimbursements. Increasing breakfast programs also mean an increase in local economic activity, positively affecting the dairies, bakeries and other vendors that supply school districts.

Can Clevelanders participate on an individual level to assist CHA?
We would ask that your readers get involved with their schools and see if there is a breakfast and/or summer program. They might also want to help increase participation at existing programs. Readers from higher income areas can always adopt an inner city site by making donations. Last of all would be a call to volunteer.

Children's Hunger Alliance has created savvy strategic alliances with dozens area companies with cause-related marketing, with Chipotle, Donato's, and Bank One to name a few. Describe the campaigns, and how companies are directly responsible for bringing resources (financial or otherwise) to CHA.
I see you’ve been checking us out! We have been running the Menu of the Month (MOM) for over three years now. The concept of partnering with restaurants to expand awareness of the issue of childhood hunger came from our CEO Bill Dolan, a former executive with Rax Restaurants and Mark Pi’s. The agency partner’s with a different restaurant each month, who in turn offer’s a % of proceeds from the sale of a targeted item back to feed hungry kids. It’s a real win-win for both sides-through media promotions, in-store advertising and pitches from servers their customers are made aware that childhood hunger exists in their backyard, and feel good about a restaurant that supports this cause. The more customers become aware of the issue, and the agency’s work, they become more personally engaged through volunteer opportunities, special events. The restaurants also receive great exposure from the month long campaign. Hoggy’s, Damon’s, Panera, and Buca Di Beppo are a few of the partners who offer the Menu of the Month promotions statewide. So, as we say, "Eat out and help feed a kid."

Companies that stand out with a social conscience are becoming more visible in the market place. Do you feel this is a trend developing in Cleveland?
Cause-related partnerships add a humane face to their brand and demonstrates commitment to social issues effecting people and communities. Big business has been out-front on charitable-social support, but now it's being more selective and specific in their association with a cause as it relates to overall branding. Small to medium businesses are seeing the strategic benefit of cause-related marketing and that may be where Cleveland sees a trend.

What are the advantages for corporations who engage in this different approach to brand identity, marketing and social awareness?
A statement from Business in Community (BITC) website on the benefits of cause-related partnerships states this adequately: “Recent retaliation against business and the call for more ethics has transformed stakeholder expectations of business' roles and responsibilities. Cause-related marketing provides the means to use the power of the brand to publicly demonstrate a firm’s commitment to addressing the social issues of the day through providing resources and funding whilst addressing business marketing objectives.”

Children's Hunger Alliance works with faith-based communities, which groups are specifically participating and what is the process?
In Central Ohio, The Huntington National Bank and Children’s Hunger Alliance in 2000 formed the IMPACT program, a private partnership developed with the goal of helping faith based organizations provide after-school settings to keep youth safe, offer continued learning, and provide nutritious food and physical activity. The Children’s Hunger Alliance acts as the intermediary between faith-based organizations and public, non-profit, and private entities to expand access to after-school care for at-risk youth. Faith-based organizations are offered resources such as volunteers, AmeriCorps member support, educational programming, training and infrastructure support to create and sustain effective programs. The program was honored in December 2004 by Secretary Tommy Thompson of Health and Human Services at the Second Annual Innovations in Prevention Awards as one of the Nation’s Top Faith-based programs focused on prevention.

Faith-based support has come under fire recently, as the Bush Administration steps away from traditional avenues of solving our nation's most pressing issues. Statistics now show that faith-based support has a tremendously positive impact - how have faith-based groups and individuals alleviated needs in the CHA organization?
The IMPACT program mentioned above is one such example. Faith-based communities have been an invaluable source for outreach-distributing information to those in need, such as site locations for free summer meals and food stamp outreach. The faith-based community is always a potent source of volunteers and advocacy support, and we appreciate their presence in the community very much.

Interview and image by Tisha Nemeth-Loomis

http://www.ChildrensHungerAlliance.org

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