Feeding Children in Portage County

-

 

Feeding Children in Portage County 




Food insecurity is a harrowing problem for many families and communities around the world. According to Feeding America, 9 million children are hungry. But, food insecurity hits even closer to home. The food insecurity rate in Portage, Stark and Summit county is around 20% of children.

Programs such as School Lunch Program, WIC, SNAP and other government benefits are helpful to providing support to families, but at Kent State, we wanted to take it a step further.

A graduate student focused their master's project on discovering the severity of food insecurity for children in Portage County. Since then, Mighty Pack was born. A food insecurity service for children in Portage County, this service provides a weekend bag of food for children. Two breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack items are provided each week to various school and child development centers around Kent.

With the supervision of Dr. Natalie Caine-Bish; Graduate Assistants organize, plan and coordinate the Mighty Pack program. Weekly volunteers help to heat seal, pack and delivery the bags to various locations. It is with many people that this program is made possible.

If you or anyone else is interested in providing a helping hand or monetary donations, please contact Dr. Natalie Caine-Bish at ncaine@kent.edu.


KS

https://www.bencurtisfoundation.org/how-to-help/spread-the-word/#:~:text=The%20child%20food%20insecurity%20rate,22%2C570%20children%20in%20Summit%20County.

https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america#:~:text=Facts%20about%20hunger%20in%20America,United%20States%20are%20food%20insecure.

Comments

  1. McKenna PetersNovember 30, 2023 at 3:50 PM

    Food insecurity is such a big problem and I love how a graduate student focused on how they can make a difference locally to help! This article was really informative and I love how you provided the steps we can take to be part of the change and help out ourselves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leah LisleDecember 2, 2023 at 12:38 PM

    We love and appreciate the work done by many of our Graduate Assistants for Mighty Pack!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do you struggle with pre and post exercise nutrition?

-
Image
What should i eat before and after a workout? First things first…carbohydrates, proteins and fats are important for the body before  and after exercise. Exercising muscle preferentially uses carbohydrates from stored glycogen, but fats are also an important fuel source for energy production during exercise. Fats and carbohydrates are the two major fuel sources during exercise. Fats must be translocated and broken down from their storage form before they are used. Typically there is enough carbohydrate stored as muscle glycogen for exercise but as muscle glycogen stores decline, the skeletal muscle will then use some amino acids (basic components of all protein). More specifically, the amino acid leucine is used for energy.              It is important to consume an adequate amount of carbohydrates exercise to delay fatigue and minimize gastrointestinal distress. It is also important to consume enough fluids to prev...
Read more

Child Malnutrition

-
New approach to childhood malnutrition may reduce relapses, deaths http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150211124024.htm               Moderate acute malnutrition is experienced by 35 million children worldwide. A new study led by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has suggested that feeding children until they have met target measures of arm circumference and weight may be more important than a set 12 week feeding time. However, researchers have found that the current targets, set by the World Health Organization (WHO) may not be sufficient and raising these targets slightly could significantly reduce the risk of relapse in malnourished children; a condition that has a 37% relapse rate. The study took place in rural Malawi and was comprised of 2,349 moderately malnourished children aged 6 months to 5 years old. Children were evaluated 12 months after treatment; 1,967 rec...
Read more

Harvest of the Month

-
Image
Harvest of the Month  August – Corn Good source of  fiber Carbohydrate source for energy Antioxidants Contains vitamins and minerals ½ cup or 1 ear = 80 calories   http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=90 September – Watermelon High in vitamin A and vitamin C Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory support 1 cup cubed = 46 calories http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31 October – Apples High in fiber Vitamin C Abundant amount of antioxidants 1 medium = 95 calories  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=15 November – Squash and Pumpkin High in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B2, B3 & B6 Many minerals  High in fiber Multiple antioxidant properties  1 cup = 76 calories  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=63 Decembe...
Read more