Government Resources to Fight Hunger!

Nora Balduff, Ohio Association of Foodbanks

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Ohio Association of Foodbanks

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks is Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger

• Our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America

foodbanks in providing food and other resources to

people in need and to pursue areas of common interest

for the benefit of people in need

• Hungry children, adults, and seniors in Ohio make over

2.3 million visits to member food pantries alone, every

three months

• This represents an increase of 23.6 percent in the

number of visits for emergency food in Ohio since 2009

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Programs for Children

• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Education

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Education

• National School Lunch and National School Breakfast Program, administered by the Ohio Dept. of Education

• Special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Health

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Programs for Seniors

• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services

• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, administered by the Ohio Dept. of Aging

• Title III programs (home delivered meals, congregate meals), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Aging

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Programs for Everyone

• The Ohio Food Program and Agricultural Clearance Program (OFPACP), administered by Ohio Association of Foodbanks

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services

• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), administered by the Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services

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Hunger is still a big problem

• Ohio is 6th in the nation for high food insecurity rates (16.4%) from USDA Food Security in US, 2010 released September 2011

– Still food insecure:• 52% of households that receive SNAP• 48% of households that receive free and reduced price

school meals• 46% of households that receive WIC

• Over one in four (26.5%) of Ohio children were estimated to be food insecure in 2010

• Nearly 20% of all Ohioans over the age of 50 with incomes below 200% FPL are food insecure.

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Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

Food that’s in when school is out!

Established by Congress to ensure that children in low-income areas continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session

Eligible Participants:

• All children ages 1 to 18

• Individuals age 19 to 21 years of age who have a mental or physical disability and are enrolled during the school year in a public or private non-profit school program

Federally funded program that is administered

through state agencies

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SFSP: Help is Needed!

In Ohio in FY 2011:

199 sponsorsNearly 1,600 sites statewide

94% served lunch46% served breakfast10% served snacks 5% served supper

Almost 184,000 meals served daily

• 21 million children nationally are eligible for SFSP

• Only one in ten participate

• Low participation in rural areas

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SFSP: Help is Needed!

• 11 counties had no sites this summer– Clinton, Geauga, Harrison, Holmes, Mercer,

Morrow, Noble, Preble, Vinton, Williams, Wyandot

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SFSP: Help is Needed!

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How you can participate in SFSP

1. Become a Site (location where children are served)

2. Become a Sponsor (ODE encourages all eligible schools to consider becoming sponsors)

3. Become a food vendor for a sponsor

4. Become a volunteer at a site

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SFSP Operations

State:

Signs an agreement directly with sponsoring organizations

Provides training and technical assistance to all sponsoring organizations

Monitors operation of sponsoring organizations

Sponsoring Organizations:

Accept financial and administrative responsibility

Must be capable of managing a food service

Sponsors: Train and monitor sites Arrange for meals Oversee site operations Complete paperwork Submit claims for

reimbursement

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Where can SFSP sites be located?

• Schools• Parks• Recreation Centers• Community Centers• Pools• Playgrounds• Churches• Youth Organizations• Scout Programs

• Salvation Army• Housing Complexes• Trailer Parks• Camps• Universities

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Types of SFSP sites

• Open site – All children in an eligible area eat free without the need of additional paperwork

• Enrolled site – All children enrolled in an eligible program eat free, as demonstrated by household income applications

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Site Eligibility

• Area Eligibility50% or more of the children in a school

service area qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, based on school or census data

• Household Income ApplicationsEach child must return an application to

the sponsor50% must be eligible for free or

reduced-price meals

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Reimbursements

• Operating costs• Meals

• Food supplies

• Labor

• Administrative costs

• Paperwork costs

• Additional reimbursement for

• Sites in rural areas

• Sites that prepare their own meals

Self-prep/rural:• Breakfast: $1.880• Lunch/supper: $3.2925• Snack: $0.7750

Vended/urban:• Breakfast: $1.8450• Lunch/supper: $3.2375• Snack: $0.7575

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Recent Trends

• Sponsors are operating programs for more days of the summer

• Sponsors are incorporating more activities around the meal to draw children to attend

• Increase in faith-based organizations participating

• Changing demographics in areas of the state

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Important Dates!

• Training conducted March – April

• May 1 application deadline

• January 2013 Statewide SFSP Summit in Columbus, Ohio

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Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

CACFP Afterschool Meals

If you are operating an afterschool program that provides educational and enrichment activities and you are located in a low-income area, a new federal option can fund afterschool MEALS for the children and teens you serve!

• Federal funding to afterschool programs that serve a meal or snack to children in low-income areas– 1994: demonstration project only serving snacks in

targeted area– 2010: Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act allows snack

and meal reimbursement in all states

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CACFP Afterschool Meals

To qualify to offer CACFP meals a program must:• Be located in a low-income area

– 50% or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price school meal

• Offer educational and enrichment activities– Tutoring, mentoring, arts & crafts, nutrition

education, community service

• Meet health and safety standards

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CACFP: Who and when does the program serve?

• In 2010 there were 1,172 Ohio CACFP sites

• 25,236 children received a supper through CACFP in

May 2012

• Who is served?

– Children through age 12 in child-care settings;

– Children ages 13 to 18 in educational enrichment programs in

eligible facilities (after school at-risk snack program); and

– Children age 18 and younger residing in emergency shelters.

• When are meals served?

– Afterschool, weekends, school holidays during regular school

year

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How you can participate in CACFP

• Sponsor the program at one or more afterschool centers

• Independently operate a center• Work with a new or established sponsor to

provide snacks and/or meals• Sponsors can include:

– Public and private non-profit schools– Local government agencies– Private non-profit organizations– Some for-profit entities

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CACFP: Meals served

• Breakfast: consists of a serving of fluid milk, fruit or vegetable, and a grain or bread

• Lunch and dinner: require fluid milk, grain or bread, meat or meat alternate, and two servings of fruits or vegetables

• Snacks: include two of the four components: fluid milk, fruit or vegetable, grain or bread, or meat or meat alternate

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CACFP: How does the program work?

State:

• Signs an agreement

directly with sponsoring

organizations

• Provides training and

technical assistance to

all sponsoring

organizations

• Monitors operation of

sponsoring

organizations

Sponsoring Organizations:

• Accept financial and administrative responsibility

• Must be capable of managing a food service

• Sponsors: • Maintain program eligibility

• Serve meals that meet program requirements

• Keep daily records of participants and number of meals served

• Collect household-size and income information on Income Eligibility Forms

• Comply with all regulations and instructions

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Reimbursements

Sponsors receive federal reimbursement to cover the administrative and operating costs of preparing and serving meals to eligible children

Operating costs• Meals

• Food supplies

• Labor

• Administrative costs

• Depreciation of food service equipment

Free Rate:• Breakfast: $1.55• Lunch or Supper: $2.86• Snack: $0.78

Reduced-Price Rate:• Breakfast: $1.25• Lunch or Supper: $2.46• Snack: $0.39

Paid Rate:• Breakfast: $0.27• Lunch or Supper: $0.27• Snack: $0.07

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CACFP: Steps to Participating

1. Contact Ohio Department of Education

2. Attend training

3. Apply

4. Pre-Approval Site Visit

5. Health and Safety Licensing Requirement

6. Develop Menus

7. Obtain Food and Prepare or Work with Vendor

8. Train Staff

9. Complete monthly paperwork

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Contacts at State Agency Administering SFSP &

CACFPVisit www.ode.state.oh.us

Ohio Department of Education Customer Service: 1-800-808-6325

Mary ForsterSFSP Coordinator/Consultant

(614) 752-1460mary.forster@ode.state.oh.us

Susan DawsonSFSP/CACFP Consultant

susan.dawson@ode.state.oh.us

Mary KershawAssistant Director, CACFP/SFSP

(614) 644-2601mary.kershaw@ode.state.oh.us

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Other non-food resources to fight hunger!

• The Ohio Benefit Bank™• National service programs

The Problem: Ohio’s Unclaimed Funds

In Ohio, more than $2.24 billion in work support programs and tax credits, provided to help stabilize low- and moderate-income families, go unclaimed each year.

About 95 percent of those funds are federal dollars which, if unused, Ohio must return to the federal government.

$1,276,485,

620

$258,369,40

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$76,227,280

$65,146,199

$272,255,780

$289,983,39

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SNAP Benefits Not Accessed

EITC Funds Not Accessed

Federal Children's Medicaid Benefits Not Accessed

Federal CHIP Benefits Not Accessed

Medicare Part D Benefits Not Accessed

Value of Pell Grants Not Accessed

An Answer: The Ohio Benefit Bank

The OBB helps individuals and families to access these unclaimed funds, providing revenue to local economies.

Here’s an example of how the OBB could help to increase household stability for a family of one adult and two children with an earned annual income of $15,600 (or $10/hour for 30 hours/week):

$5,028 from the Earned Income Tax Credit

$4,728 in Food Assistance

$150 in Home Energy Assistance

= $9,931 in potential income enhancements

These benefits and credits alone would provide an increase in annual income of more than 64 percent!

Programs Supported by the OBB

• USDA Child Nutrition Programs• Food Assistance (SNAP)• Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)• Healthcare programs for families and children• Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH)• Child and Family Health Services• Medicare Savings Program• Extra Help for Medicare Part D• Ohio Senior Community Service Employment Program• Golden Buckeye Program• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)• Ohio Cash Assistance (OWF)• Child Care Assistance• Vocational Rehabilitation Services• Big Brothers Big Sisters “Amachi”• Veterans Education Benefits• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)• Free tax filing (federal and state, including e-filing and back taxes)

Current Results

Since its inception in 2006, the

OBB has returned more than

$684 million in potential work

support programs and tax

credits to over 339,000

Ohioans.

Those income enhancements

go directly to local economies

through medical expenditures,

food purchases, and many

other areas.

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Get Involved with The OBB!

• Visit www.ohiofoodbanks.org or www.ohiobenefits.org

• Contact your Regional Coordinator:– Russell Allen– 614-221-4336, ext. 241– 614-725-9368, cell– rallen@ohiofoodbanks.org

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National Service Programs

• The Ohio Association of Foodbanks operates Ohio’s largest national service program, including:– 60-member AmeriCorps VISTA initiative– 30-member AmeriCorps State initiative– 174 AmeriCorps Summer Associates

• AmeriCorps VISTA members have secured more than $1.34 million in cash and in-kind donations since 2006

• AmeriCorps State members have completed 13,327 OBB applications and served 91,374 other clients since 2009

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Interested in finding out more?

Visit www.ohiofoodbanks.org

Dustin Speakman

Director of Community Services

Ohio Association of Foodbanks

dustin@ohiofoodbanks.org

614-221-4336, ext. 231

Thank you!! Questions?

www.ohiofoodbanks.org

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Nora Balduff, Director of Child & Senior Nutrition, nora@ohiofoodbanks.org, 614.221.4336, ext. 230