1. S UMMER H UNGER By: Jesslyn Harris, Brittany Shelton Hemphill, and Jessica Lace

2. S UMMER HUNGER We chose to advocate “summer hunger”, because hunger is everywhere and our children deserve to not go hungry during the summer months.

3. H UNGER AND E ARLY C HILDHOOD EDUCATION Hunger impairs children’s health Sick more often Recover slowly Experience headaches and stomach aches More likely to have colds and ear infections Experience fatigue Hunger impairs children’s ability to learn Undernourished children cannot learn as much or as fast as others Hunger impairs the child’s ability to concentrate Are more likely to skip or drop out

4. H UNGER AND E ARLY C HILDHOOD EDUCATION C ONTINUED Hunger can cause our children to have emotional and behavioral difficulties Can cause behavior issues Academic problems Aggression Anxious problems

5. S UMMER HUNGER IN A RKANSAS 18% of Arkansans live below the poverty line and can’t afford enough food to eat. The number of children living in poverty in Arkansas is 173,939 In the northeast region of Arkansas, 25% of the people in hungry households are under age 18. Arkansas has the third highest incidence of hunger in the nation. In 2009, the Summer Feeding Program in Arkansas fed 1,140,649 meals.

6. W HY IS SUMMER HUNGER IMPORTANT ? 50.1 million Americans, including 17 million children, lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis. In 2009, 19.9 million children received free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program, but only 2.2 million of these same income-eligible children participated in the Summer Food Service Program that same year.

7. F ACTS ABOUT SUMMER HUNGER 62% of teachers see students in their classrooms every year who do not receive the food they need at home. 63% of teachers admit to buy classroom food with their own money. 89% of teachers believe that hunger should be a national priority.

8. F ACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CHILDHOOD SUMMER HUNGER Living in or below poverty Homeless Parent has drug/alcohol problem Parent disabled or ill Grandparents raising children No Food Pantry in Area

9. D ON ’ T GO HUNGRY, FILL YOUR TUMMY !

10. B ANNING HUNGER FOR THE SUMMER, THAT ’ S OUR GOAL ! E ATING ALL DAY, PEAS, CARROTS, AND ROLLS ! N O CHILD WILL HAVE TO FEEL HUNGER IN THEIR TUMMY W E ’ VE GOT FOOD ALL DAY, PLUS IT ’ S REALLY YUMMY !

11. O UR IDEA : “S UMMER H UNGER ” PROGRAM Children 18 and under Free transportation and food Serving lunch Ran by volunteers Donations from local food stores Community involvement: church, school, ect. Sign-up sheets and information provided before hand to let parents and student feel comfortable.

12. S TORIES FROM THE COMMUNITY Elizabeth’s Story “When I miss meal times I feel grumpy like the Grouch in the trash can on Sesame Street.” Emily’s Story “If there wasn’t a Kida Café in her neighborhood I would feel sad and hungry.” Kaylee’s Story “When I come to Kids Café, I can eat. At home there’s not much food---none.”

13. L ETTER TO M ARK P RYOR How to contact him The Honorable Mark L. Pryor 255 Dirksen Senate Offices Building Washington DC 20510 Our letter

14. F LYER Our flyer

15. G ET INVOLVED ! List of Resources/Other groups Arkansas Department of Education http://arkansased.org/ Feeding Children Everywhere Feeding Children Everywhere exists to empower and mobilize people from all walks of life to help meet one of our most basic needs: FOOD. Through passion, education, inspiration and a little hard work, together we can make a global difference. http://www.feedingchildreneverywhere.com /

16. G ET I NVOLVED CONTINUED United State Department of Agriculture Educational Outreach http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome Feeding America Backpack Program- The Backpack Program is designed to meet the needs of hungry children at times when other resources are not available such as weekends or school vacations. http://feedingamerica.org/our-network/network- programs/backpack-program.aspx Food Research and Action Center Summer Nutrition Program http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/summer-programs/ Federal Education Budget Project http://febp.newamerica.net/k12/AR/notes

17. P OSSIBLE I SSUES : Amount of children Volunteers Time Money Transportation Community involvement

18. T HE I SSUE WE ADDRESSED How can we get the food to all of the students in need? Summer programs are not reaching everybody Not enough children are showing up because they can’t get there Public Transportation cost money Children can’t walk to the center School bus would cost the school extra money Parent can’t take children

19. RESOURCES http://www.austinfoodbank.org/stories http://www.aolnews.com/2010/06/16/record-number-of-us-kids- facing-summer-of-hunger http://www.arhungeralliance.org/statistics.htm http://www.strength.org/childhood_hunger/hunger_facts http://www.strength.org/teachers http://dhs.arkansas.gov/dccece/snp/summerinform.aspx http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/about/faq.html http :// www.fns.usds.gov/cnd/grants.htm http://www.summerfood.usda.gov http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/13/97424/summer-meal- program-isnt-reaching.htm

20. C ONT. http://www.datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate /Rankings.aspx?state=AR&ind=256 http://www.dhs.arkansas.gov/dccece/snp/Poverty RatesM.aspx http://www.strength.org/press_release/20101001 http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/23/16-million- hungry -kids-1-new-idea-for-feeding-them/