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About Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength® is a national nonprofit that is ending childhood hunger in America. Share Our Strength’s goal is to end childhood hunger in America. Working with others, we believe we can do this by 2015.

It’s not enough to make sure America’s children have enough to eat; we must make sure they are getting the nutrition they need to live healthy, active lives.

That is why Share Our Strength’s highest priority is to make sure that every child in America gets the nutritious food he or she needs to learn, grow and thrive. We are doing this by improving the access that families all across the country have to healthy, affordable food and by working at the state and city level. This is our No Kid Hungry strategy, and it has four key components that, together, provide children with the nutritious food they need where they live, learn and play:

  • Creating public-private partnerships at the state and city level to map out comprehensive, measurable plans to end child hunger in those areas.
  • Building public awareness about the problem of childhood hunger and solutions to end it.
  • Investing in communities with grants to organizations whose work improves access to nutritious foods or that educate families about such programs.
  • Educating children and families about nutritious, affordable eating.

We measure our progress by measuring participation in effective, existing programs that provide nutritious food to children at home (SNAP, or food stamps, WIC, and nutrition education), during school (breakfast and lunch, and through nutrition education) and when school is out (afterschool snacks and summer meals).

Our Progress to Date

Much of our progress in 2010 was in building capacity to put momentum behind the No Kid Hungry® Campaign.

State- or city-based No Kid Hungry programmatic partnerships

  • Established seven partnerships: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New Orleans, Washington state and the District of Columbia.
  • Identified 18 additional possibilities for 2011, with a goal of establishing 10 of them.

Nutrition Education

  • Added four Cooking Matters programs in as many states—California, New Jersey, Maine and Connecticut—for a total of 26 programs in 22 states.

School Breakfast

  • We are overcoming the barriers that prevent children from getting a healthy start to their day. Learn more about the importance of school breakfast »
  • With the Children’s Alliance and End Childhood Hunger Washington, increased participation in Washington state by 32% between 2005 and 2009, and served 1 million more school breakfasts in 2009 vs. 2008.
  • With the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland, increased participation 7% in Maryland in 2009.

Summer Meals

  • As part of the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, increased sites providing summer meals in Colorado to 309, a 54% increase, and served 900,000 more summer meals, more than ever before.
  • With our partners, increased participation in Maryland by 17% (the second-highest increase in the country) and served 8,000 more children.
  • As part of the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, brought summer meals programs to all 67 counties in Florida, a 78% increase over 2004 levels. In Orange County alone, 5,100 more children received summer meals in 2009.
  • Published a report on the success of our summer meals efforts, Tackling Summer Hunger: Ensuring No Kid Goes Hungry When School Is Out

SNAP (food stamps)

  • With our partners, increased participation in Washington state by 64% between August 2008 and May 2010, helping 370,000 more families receive benefits.
  • Increased number of farmers markets accepting Basic Food Program (SNAP) debit cards by 76% in2009. Basic Food Program redemptions at farmers markets rose $108,738 during that time.

WIC

  • With the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation’s Capital, increased participation in the District of Columbia by 17% in two years, providing benefits to nearly 2,500 more pregnant women, infants and children under 5.

Community Investment (grants)

  • In 2009, provided 284 nonprofits with grants totaling just over $4.5 million to support our programmatic priorities.

Public Awareness and Advocacy

  • Launched the No Kid Hungry Campaign Nov. 10, 2010 with national spokesperson and Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
  • Through extensive broadcast, print, and on-line coverage related to the No Kid Hungry launch, dramatically raised the profile of childhood hunger in the U.S. and the solutions provided by the No Kid Hungry strategy. Engaged 26 corporate and anti-hunger alliance partners in public-awareness, cause marketing and employee involvement aspects of the No Kid Hungry Campaign before its November 10 launch.
  • Successfully advocated Congress to add a State Hunger Challenge Grant program to the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill.
  • Brought top chefs to Congressional offices to advocate for a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill.
  • Recruited 700 chefs for the launch of First Lady’s “Chefs Move to Schools”.

Fundraising

  • Raised $24.8 million in 2010 through our fundraising platforms (Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation, Great American Bake Sale, Dine Out for No Kid Hungry and A Tasteful Pursuit), donations and corporate sponsorships.
  • Welcomed 20,000 No Kid Hungry Pledge-Takers
  • Provided grants to 305 organizations in 2010, totaling $3.9 million.

To learn more about our history, organization and brand, please visit www.Strength.org