Dorothy spoke about the No Kid Hungry campaign from her perspective as a mom of five kids and her work reaching out to other First Spouses on our behalf. She shared some of the incredible progress our team has made in Virginia, especially around school breakfast where we’ve added more than 42,000 kids and moved participation from 53% to 61%.

Terry also spoke and shared that as governor his primary focus was on economic growth and workforce development. He emphasized that the key to his success in attracting businesses to the state was the investments made in children and education that began with making sure every child was fed.  That argument takes our elevator speech one floor higher than the buttons we usually push – not just stopping at the moral case for feeding kids or even the educational arguments, but reaching the even larger audience open to the economic rationale for ending childhood hunger. It connects us more squarely to the larger national conversation and many of the likely themes of the coming 2020 campaigns.

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Dozens of governors, Democrat and Republican, some newly sworn in and others veteran officeholders, committed to advance our efforts.  Share Our Strength also hosted a panel for First Spouses about activating No Kid Hungry strategies in their states.

We could not have had a warmer reception.  The result will be millions more kids getting the food, nutrition, and the enhanced educational opportunities that go with them. Thanks to the many Share Our Strength supporters whose hard work and generosity creates such opportunities. And special thanks to my colleagues on the Share Our Strength staff who worked so hard before and during the NGA meeting and represent us so well with America’s governors.

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– Ron Shaich, founder of Au Bon Pain and Panera Bread

Based on business metrics alone, no one has been more successful in the food world than Ron Shaich, who built Panera to be the highest performing restaurant stock in the nation.  But the metric Ron pays the most attention to is personal: “Am I doing work that I respect?”   In this new episode of Add Passion and Stir, he is in conversation with Food Corps founder and CEO Curt Ellis who explains why “Food is the place where social justice and racial justice meet environmental sustainability and public health.”

We talk business, politics, schools, culture, health, the environment and more at our website and on iTunes. Thanks for listening and sharing.

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Sister Norma Pimental runs the Catholic Charities respite center. Immigrant families are brought by Border Patrol after long journeys from Honduras or Guatemala, are the lucky ones, released on their own recognizance (some with electronic ankle bracelets) and receiving soup, a shower and assistance buying a bus ticket. We helped serve lunch to families and chatted across language barriers. Sister Pimental prays for the Border Patrol agents and recounted the time one officer, watching immigrant families being fed, told her “Thank you for helping us remember we are human beings.”  She frames the challenge: “We need a secure border and we need to treat people humanely and with dignity. We are a powerful nation and can do both.”

Rich Newman is an unlikely pro bono lawyer for unaccompanied minors and detained immigrants.  Previously a prosecutor supporting ICE enforcement, he explained drug cartel control of the border, raiding smugglers’ stash houses, and that absent a legitimate asylum claim (fear of government persecution counts, fear of gangs does not) virtually no one crossing the border illegally can come and stay here legally. He shared his evolution from prosecutor to advocate: “Immigration is the civil rights issue of our day. If my kids someday ask what I did, I want them to know I tried. Just like the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, progress is first made through the courts. Then, laws slowly change to reflect the arguments being made in court”

Marcella came from Mexico 11 years ago with her husband and son. They gradually built a comfortable home in a colonia while her husband built his mechanics business. She had two more children, American citizens. Her oldest is a Dreamer. She and her husband remain undocumented.  Chickens roam outside their house. The neighbors on each side are in trailers and lean-tos.  I ask whether harsher immigration rhetoric has made their life harder. As everywhere, the answer is “No, not really, we just go about living our lives”.

The Rio Grande Valley knows tears of sadness and tears of joy. The tears this time were different. They were tears for unrealized possibilities. Pat Matamoros, with the Cameron County health department for 25 years choked up while telling of the need for a food pantry. Marisela Cortez, representing Congressman Vela had trouble getting through her welcoming marks. School librarian Selma Ramirez cried when thanking us for coming, and shared that her cousin was the Ice agent killed in 2011. All three are American citizens of Hispanic descent. All three have purchase upon the American Dream. So why the tears? I think because they all know firsthand not only what is but what could be. They know what hard work can achieve if given even the slightest chance. They know how unjust are the half-truths that are told, how unnecessary the suffering, how unworthy of a great nation.

So what can we do? As always, we can build on what works. Each action no matter how small is larger than the small thinking that divides us.  We can ensure the Respite Center has healthy food, that Cameron County gets a food pantry, that the elementary school kids getting breakfast are also getting after school snacks and summer meals. Food nourishes justice.

I’m so proud of our team’s commitment to the most vulnerable and voiceless. Thanks Chuck, Jennifer, Monica, Sarah, Allison, and Amy. And so grateful for friends like Jeff Swartz, Jonathan Lavine, Ed Shapiro, and Chuck Myers who had the vision and resources to make our trip possible. There are so many places where we do important work – but the isolation of the Valley is palpable. I hope we’ll I always remember to show up on behalf of the forgotten. In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks that Chuck shared with me yesterday: “The ironic yet utterly humane lesson of history is that what renders a culture invulnerable is the compassion it shows to the vulnerable.”

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-Rep. Jim McGovern

On our new and timely episode of Add Passion and Stir, Congressman Jim McGovern offers an impassioned defense of the food and nutrition programs at the heart of our No Kid Hungry strategy, and speculates about what might change should Democrats re-take the House and should be become chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.  He is joined by Equinox chef Todd Gray who has been part of Share Our Strength since our earliest days.   This episode is a great one to share with our anti-hunger partners across the country.  Listen in at our website or on iTunes.

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“Investing in people and places and organizations that can lift the whole… that’s how I define community,”  – Danny Meyer

You can probably tell that I tend to enjoy all of the podcast episodes we’ve had the privilege to record. But this one is among those of which I am most proud.  In a compelling example of what principled leadership looks and sounds like, former Senator George Mitchell and our board colleague Danny Meyer take on the political dysfunction that has divided our nation, immigration, community building, poverty, and early childhood investments, among other topics relevant to what we work on every day.  I hope you’ll have the chance to listen on our website and on iTunes
. Thanks!

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• Reinforcing the connection between child hunger and child health and mobilizing to oppose cuts to SNAP and other vital child nutrition programs
• Recognizing that child hunger and child health are among our most solvable problems in a nation that has no shortage of food or medicine
• Remember that children are not only vulnerable but voiceless and need us to be their voice in policy and politics
• Supporting children to lead as we are seeing thousands do on sensible gun safety in the wake of the Parkland, FL tragedy
• Being cathedral builders who may work on something their whole lives without seeing it finished but who are part of something larger than themselves and building something that will endure.

Every time a school serves lunch or breakfast to a kid who can’t afford it, every step that makes health care more accessible, every improvement in our schools, makes Americas stronger child by child.

The post The Children’s Health Fund Making America Stronger Child By Child appeared first on Share Our Strength.

The men and women of our armed services deserve our deepest gratitude and respect. Even more, they deserve our willingness to match their selfless service with service of our own.  The show of force we ought to project is one that features our teachers, childcare providers, doctors, technology innovators, coaches, volunteers, nonprofits and public servants.

This is what will enable is to keep our economy strong and our military equipped, trained, and ready. This is what we should celebrate and aspire for the rest of the world to see.

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I found it to be illustrative, inspiring and instructional for us and for many colleague organizations in our sector. It’s an example of the moral imperative of re-prioritizing – and having the humility to re-examine cherished beliefs and carefully crafted strategic plans.  This is especially true when political, economic and social conditions have changed as dramatically as they have in the past year.  Success is rarely about building the plan or sticking to it so much as adapting the plan to new realities. It’s worth reading what Walker has written below, and contemplating what it might mean for our work and yours

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I can relate to all three, especially the third, but none fully satisfy.  I want to know not only what people say, but also what they are going to do. Make no mistake: silence is as unacceptable now as it has been on other occasions this past year. But words alone are not sufficient.

They must be matched with concrete commitments to more effectively serve, represent, and be the voice of those who are the targets of not only racism but of the escalating assault on poor people of all backgrounds.  We saw this most recently through the proposal to allow states to strip the poor of Medicaid if they are not working, notwithstanding studies showing those on Medicaid are better able to get jobs.  We will see it again in battles over SNAP and other forms of assistance to low income Americans

At Share Our Strength and Community Wealth Partners, we are among the few in the privileged position to not only speak but also act.  Our plan has always been to organize, mobilize, advocate, reform, build, strengthen, motivate, and enlist and enroll those in need in programs that work. And to help those who serve them to do so more effectively. That doesn’t change. But the urgency to strengthen every partnership, whether with donor or local organization or client, increases with the knowledge that we will not only be ending hunger, but standing up for Dr. King’s vision of “the beloved community” that changes not only our laws but our souls.

The post Words, Deeds, and the “Beloved Community” on MLK Day 2018 appeared first on Share Our Strength.

From my window facing the ocean I see something I’ve never seen before.  The clouds are not in the clear blue sky but instead sitting on top of the water. The extreme temperature differential between Maine’s always cold ocean and the -12 degree air has created a steaming layer of clouds where air and water meet.   In front of the clouds, in the water close to shore swim five fat black ducks, as leisurely as if in the Bahamas. I envy their serenity in the face of extreme conditions and consider adding the aspiration to my new year’s resolutions. But serenity rarely accelerates change.

2018 promises challenging conditions for our work. Pundits speculate whether the political earthquake of 2016 will be sustained or turn out instead to have been an aberration that gets reversed and ends one party control of Congress and White House. For all of the prognosticating no one can be certain. Every prediction is sewn tightly to the caveat “of course, there’s never really been a time like this so who knows.”

What does it all mean for Share Our Strength and the children we serve? At least two things: First, preoccupation with a divisive midterm election campaign makes it unlikely our political leaders will get much done. Progress addressing basic human needs will depend on organizations like ours working with partners on the ground to protect existing services and better connect those most vulnerable to them.  State governments will continue to be critical to our strategy.

Second, in 2017 we staked a new claim that went beyond increasing percentages of kids participating in school meals. For the first time we asserted childhood hunger has been significantly reduced, with one-third fewer children experiencing hunger today.  (See our excellent year-end thank-you video)

It’s a bold claim but not a surprising one.  When you combine 3 million more kids getting school breakfast, with unemployment down to 4.1 percent, and USDA data showing record low levels of the “very low food security” that represents missed meals, we know that many kids, while still poor, and possibly even food insecure, at least are not hungry.

Still, this bold claim represents a significant departure for us. In addition to emphasizing the harmful consequences of kids not getting the nutrition they need, we are also helping our stakeholders better assess where we are in relationship to the finish line.  There is still a long way to go, but not nearly as long as before. The closer we get the more relentless we will strive to reach it, while also planning more comprehensively for what comes next once we do. In this way 2018 finds Share Our Strength on a new trajectory. Welcome back. Happy New Year. Stay warm. But not too serene.

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At a minimum every social services nonprofit should be preparing and sharing an analysis of the impact that such actions would have on those they serve.  The contemplated legislative and regulatory changes are so sweeping that they could undo the hard-earned gains of many great nonprofits and social entrepreneurs.

Although opposition to such changes can be expected and will be essential. But it will not, by itself, be enough.  Advocates have to do more than say what they are against. They must also put forth a compelling vision of what they are for – and of how investments in children and families will improve our national health, education, and strengthen our economy.

While nonprofit tax status precludes partisan activity, nothing precludes nonprofits from educating the public and policymakers alike as to how so-called “reforms” will impact those they serve.  Nonprofits that remain silent on these issues fail to meet their full responsibility.

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One of the most important things Share Our Strength is doing, in addition to relieving the terrible hardship suffered by hungry kids, is demonstrating, irrefutably, that improvement is actually possible.  Childhood hunger has been reduced by at least 30% since we began the No Kid Hungry campaign.  It is at its lowest level in many years.  Adding more than 3 million kids to school breakfast, high SNAP participation, low unemployment, and economic growth have all played a role.

Last week the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities led by our board member Bob Greenstein reported that child poverty, now at 15.6 percent, is at a record low, half of what it was in 1967. And last month USDA reported that 17.5% of children (1 in 6) live in food insecure households, but only 8.8% of kids (less than 1 in 10) live in a household with at least one food insecure child.

That the American people are “desperate for a sense that improvement is actually possible” underscores the need to emphatically embrace and promote the anti-hunger community’s success.  Organizations like ours often experience a “success paradox” feeling tension between dramatizing the severity of the problem, and showing progress that tells stakeholders the severity has been diminished and they are getting a great return on their investment.  However that is a false choice akin to a winning NFL football team feeling they have to keep the score close or the fans will stop coming to cheer. Just the opposite is the case. Fans cheer victory. Investors invest in success. Besides, the truth is that even though there has been great progress, significant and compelling need remains.

At a time when our nation, battered by tragedy, divided politically, is desperate for good news, we have some: childhood hunger and child poverty rates are dropping, lives are being saved and changed.  And having proven that we can feed kids in record numbers, we earn the opportunity and responsibility to help prevent the next generation from being hungry in the first place.

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The Academy said: “Federal authorities must exercise caution to ensure that the emotional and physical stress children experience as they seek refuge in the United States is not exacerbated by the additional trauma of being separated from their siblings, parents or other relatives and caregivers. Proposals to separate children from their families as a tool of law enforcement to deter immigration are harsh and counterproductive.  We urge policymakers to always be mindful that these are vulnerable, scared children.”

It’s easy to imagine pediatricians staying focused on more immediate issues like health care, Medicaid, or even childhood hunger and nutrition. But fortunately they also see the connection between their work and the reckless immigration policy changes now underway.  Even though they are not an immigration advocacy organization per se, the American Academy of Pediatrics is willing to stick out their necks when too few others have.

For every service and advocacy nonprofit whose mission is to serve the underserved and the most vulnerable and voiceless, whether or not their organization focuses specifically on immigration, this is a great example of how to speak up and speak out in ways most relevant to the times in which we find ourselves. It would be even better if such organizations committed to expanding programming toward those being persecuted, and especially in “sanctuary cities” that are at risk of losing government funding as the price for their political and moral courage.

Most important of all is a commitment to backing up words with actions.  Blog posts and Facebook messages are not enough. The forces behind this inexcusable cruelty expect our complaints, but also expect we will soon return to business as usual. The most important thing of all to resist is our own complacency and unintended complicity.

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