$20,000 Bank of America Grant Fights Childhood Hunger
June 23, 2010
Twenty percent of all children in Oklahoma struggle with hunger every day. However, thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Bank of America, 100 elementary school children will receive a backpack of healthy food through the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s Food for Kids program this fall.
“The purpose of this grant is to serve more chronically hungry children through the Regional Food Bank’s Food 4 Kids program, in communities where Bank of America has a presence and where there is additional need: Enid, Ponca City and Oklahoma City,” said Tony N. Shinn, Oklahoma City market president at Bank of America. “Funds from Bank of America will be used to purchase and deliver food for the Food 4 Kids program in these three communities, allowing the Food Bank to serve 100 chronically hungry children.”
Food 4 Kids is an emergency feeding program for chronically hungry elementary school children. Children, who might have very little or nothing to eat between school lunch on Friday and school breakfast on Monday, are given a backpack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly food every weekend and holiday throughout the school year.
Last school year, the Food 4 Kids program distributed more than 835,000 pounds of food to chronically hungry children in 42 central and western Oklahoma counties. During its busiest month, Food 4 Kids served nearly 8,000 students. Sadly, there are still more children that need help.
“No child should ever go to bed with the pain of hunger,” said Rodney W. Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank. “Before receiving help from Food 4 Kids, many children had difficulty staying awake in class on Monday morning after a long weekend without enough food. We want to thank Bank of America for this donation, which will help fight childhood hunger.”
Numerous teachers and administrators have reported that students’ school performance, attendance, and self-esteem have improved as a result of participating in the program. According to a survey of Food 4 Kids Coordinators:
- 92 percent saw fewer complaints about hunger by children who participated in Food 4 Kids.
- 89 percent witnessed children showing less hunger when they arrived at school on Monday mornings.
- 86 percent said they had seen children pay better attention in class once they joined the program.
- 82 percent observed an improvement in children’s academic performance.
- 71 percent witnessed an improvement in children’s school attendance.
“We have a student who became homeless when he was in second grade,” said one Food 4 Kids coordinator. “His mother delivered papers and tried to provide for him. The child is now in fifth grade, making great grades, and his mother has found the stability she needs to provide for him. The Food 4 Kids program truly made a difference for this child!”
For more information about Food 4 Kids, or to make a donation, please contact Lisa Perry at lperry@regionalfoodbank.org or 405.600.3107.
