walk for hunger boston 2009“With the economy the way it is now, it seems even more important,” said Jenifer Kyn, 43, an administrative assistant who has raised more than $500 on each of her two walks. “It’s not just the people who are homeless who need it. It could be your neighbors.”
Even if it rains again this year, Kyn and her husband, Jerry, a software engineer, are looking forward to the walk.
“The weather was miserable and we were sore afterwards, but it was fun,” she said. “We were all just getting wet together. You have the support of 40,000 walkers and everyone is doing their part.”
As Project Bread readies for the 41st annual walk on May 3, it hopes to meet the expanded need by raising at least $4.3 million from walkers, donors and corporate sponsors. Calls to its hotline were up 30 percent in 2008 and have increased substantially during the first months of 2009. Many are people seeking help for the first time.
“This is the year the Walk for Hunger was designed for,” said Ellen Parker, Project Bread executive director. “The programs we fund desperately need help. The need and demand are not keeping pace with the resources. There are a lot of new people calling our hotline and asking where they can go for help.”
When people call the hotline, they learn not only about the 400 sites where they can receive free food. Often, they’re surprised to discover that Project Bread also provides information about how to apply for food stamps and where to receive free lunches during the summer for their children.
“We’re trying to offer a broad set of solutions,” Parker said.
After the Walk for Hunger, staff will focus on the summer food service program, where they help communities promote and set up the federally funded program.
“Emergency food programs are important, but some people won’t go because they are embarrassed,” Parker said. “The summer meals are easy to get and non-stigmatizing. They’re the first line of defense for low-income kids.”
Last summer, an average of 995 children in Quincy, for example, received free lunch at 13 sites in the city as part of the summer food service program. Held at parks, schools and housing developments, often in conjunction with recreation programs, the free summer lunches are offered in communities where at least 50 percent of children are eligible for free or reduced price meals during the school year. Any child ages 18 and under can participate, without registering or showing identification.
“All kids can just show up and eat for free,” said Justine Kahn, director of child nutrition outreach at Project Bread. “It’s a great resource, but many people don’t know about it. We’re trying to get the word out that this is available for their children.”
In addition to promoting free lunch programs, Project Bread is working to improve nutrition. In some cities and towns, Project Bread is working with school food departments to improve their meals’ nutritional quality. In collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health, it has developed guidelines for food choices that avoid the high sugar, fat and calories that contribute to the increase in childhood obesity and diabetes.
“The guidelines are a high priority for us, because we’ve come to understand the advancements in nutritional science,” Parker said. “There are poor kids all over the state who are very heavy because they’re eating junk food and drinking sugary soda, and their families can’t afford to regularly buy fruits and vegetables and lean meats.”
In fact, the nutritional guidelines are useful for all parents, regardless of their income level.
“I used to understand hunger as an empty stomach and the opposite is a full stomach,” Parker said. “But now we understand that it’s not just filling kids up with any food. It’s giving them food that makes them healthy.”
WALK FOR HUNGER: May 3
Provides information on food pantries and food banks, food stamps and summer food programs for children in Massachusetts. Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Referrals are available in 160 languages. Call 1-800-645-8333. The TTY line for deaf callers is 1-800-377-1292.
One of Project Bread’s goals is to improve nutrition. These breakfast and lunch choices have less sugar and fat and more nutrition and fiber:
Fruit, rather than a glass of juice
Toast or bagel, rather than pastries, doughnuts and muffins
One percent or skim milk, rather than whole or chocolate milk
Chicken, turkey and lean meat, rather than hot dogs, sausages and other fatty meats
Carrot sticks, cucumber slices, nuts, seeds and rice cakes, rather than chips and other snack foods
Tomato based pasta sauce, rather than cream and butter
Broiled, baked and grilled foods rather than fried
Reduced sugar cereals and diet drinks, rather than sweetened cereal and soda
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