Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties Launch Mobile Food Pantry

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties on Tuesday launched a mobile food pantry. Check out this story and photo on the Ohio Benefit Bank central region blog:

OBBservations in Central Ohio: Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties Launch Mobile Food Pantry

A year you won't forget

OASHF is currently accepting applications for AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) members to start in November. VISTAs, who are the domestic counterparts to overseas Peace Corps volunteers, are passionate and enthusiastic individuals who dedicate a year of their lives to fighting poverty here at home.

Our SHARECorps program will be placing up to 30 VISTA members across Ohio, focusing on alleviating hunger and poverty by building the capacity of local nonprofit organizations. To search for our available positions and to apply, visit www.americorps.gov, but first, go to http://www.oashf.org/docs/programs/AmeriCorps_Application_Instructions.pdf and check out the instructions for finding OASHF positions on the AmeriCorps website.

One lucky VISTA will be based here, in the OASHF office downtown Columbus. We are seeking a Community Organizer, who will work with the Ohio Benefit Bank sites in central Ohio to increase the financial security of low-income community members by assisting them in accessing public benefits and tax credits and by increasing financial literacy. A complete description is here:
Central Ohio AmeriCorps VISTA 
 
For questions about the VISTA positions, contact VISTA Leader Alesha Rademan at 614-221-4336 x253 or arademan@oashf.org.

30 Days in September, 30 ways to fight hunger in Ohio

September is Hunger Action Month!

Ohio's foodbanks have organized events, volunteer opportunities, and ways for you to help and get involved in fighting hunger in our communities. You can get ideas for how to help fight hunger every day this month with your foodbank's Hunger Action Month calendar.

To find out which of Ohio's foodbanks serves your county, check out this map on the OASHF website.

Homeless children get lessons in health

AmeriCorps VISTA member Beth Griffith-Niemann speaks with WLWT Channel 5 in Cincinnati about the summer camp program being conducted by Faces Without Places for homeless children. During the Health Fair, children learned about healthy living, healthy eating and fire prevention. Beth serves at Faces Without Places through OASHF's SHARECorps program. Click here to watch the video on WLWT's website.  

Summer feeding sites get a boost from AmeriCorps VISTAs

More of Ohio's needy children will have access to healthy meals this summer, with the help of 100 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates who kicked off a summer of service today at a swearing-in ceremony at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. The VISTA Summer Associates will spend the summer supporting organizations who serve free meals to children during the summer through the USDA's Summer Food Service Program.

United States Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon administered the federal oath of service at the ceremony. Concannon expressed his gratitude toward National Service and its ability to help provide meals to children in need across Ohio.

"The health and wellbeing of our nation is dependent on the health of our children, and no child should ever have to go hungry," Concannon said. "USDA knows that our strength comes from our partnerships and from the work of service members such as the 100 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates who will help ensure that Ohio children have a healthy start in life."

This year, 25 organizations throughout Ohio were awarded Summer Associates administered by the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, which acts as an intermediary between the Corporation for National and Community Service and the organizations that serve summer meals to children, including rec centers, places of worship, schools and camps. Summer Associates recruit volunteers, develop fun and educational activities for the summer programs, and reach out to families in need to ensure more children are being fed.

Crucial support for OASHF's Summer Associate program was provided by Governor Kasich's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Due to an uncertainty in funding for the Summer Associate program, OASHF was originally awarded only 75 Summer Associate slots to be placed at summer feeding sites in 2011. Recognizing the growing needs of children throughout Ohio with so many families still out of work, the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives provided an additional $60,000 that allowed OASHF to mobilize 25 more Summer Associates.

Four in ten Ohio children now qualify for the free or reduced-price school lunch. For these children, whose families struggle to make ends meet all year round, summer vacation can mean an end to the nutritional stability they have at school.

“Last year, only one out of every 12 children throughout Ohio who were eligible, were connected to the state’s Summer Food Service Programs. Summer Associates are a vital resource for organizations and agencies that administer a Summer Food Service Program, allowing for these sites to provide a nutritious meal to children in need,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, OASHF executive director.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, who co-hosted a hunger summit in January aimed at increasing the number of children who have access to a summer feeding site, sent a letter of recognition to each of the Summer Associates. "Like you, I swore an oath to serve the public. It is a humbling responsibility to recognize our individual actions are measured by the public good. But it's also an honor, and one that I now share with you," Brown wrote.

"As I travel the state, I see first-hand why what you do is so important. Congratulations again and thank you for your service to the people of our great state. I look forward to working with you and seeing the great things you will accomplish."

(See the Summer Associates taking the oath of service administered by United States Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon.)

Find a Summer Food Service Program for Children

As summer recess begins, children who utilized the free- and reduced-price meal program at school may be in need of a Summer Food Service Program Site. To find a participating location in your county, visit the Ohio Department of Education's Summer Food Service Program website:

Summer Feeding Site Locator Map

AmeriCorps members clear the way for sunlight and safety at Linden garden

The Horn of Africa Community Garden in Columbus’s Linden neighborhood hums with activity during the day. Women, most of whom are refugees from Somalia, are watering, weeding, planting and talking, while small children are playing close by. But at night, the garden’s out-of-the-way location has attracted crime and vandalism.

SHARECorps VISTA member Sarah Lenkay learned about the problem when she visited the garden as part of her work at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Sarah mobilized about 20 volunteers who spent Saturday morning making a huge dent (literally!) in the problem. According to Sarah:

The garden sits on the property of the Rhema Christian Center and abuts Capital Park Apartments; this low-income housing is home to around 200 Somali refugee families. The community garden is a resource for the families and is maintained primarily by the women, who grow food for themselves and use it as a community gathering space where the women can come together and socialize.

While the garden is a wonderful space for the Somali women, it is also grounds for vandalism and other destructive activities. This is because the garden isn’t visible to the neighboring apartments and residents cannot see into the garden since the honeysuckle brush is severely overgrown.

AmeriCorps members and other community residents came Saturday morning to cut back the brush and clear the line of visibility between the apartments and the garden. Within a few hours, we were able to cut brush, bundle it, and haul it out of the area so the women vigilantes in the apartments could keep an eye on the garden. 

Beth, a social worker from Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, a local non-profit refugee resettlement agency, told us the brush clean-up was vital to restoring safety and community integrity to the garden. Residents now feel safer entering the garden because they can see into it prior to going in. Also, women who watch the garden from their apartments are able to monitor activities and help reduce the occurrence of inappropriate, destructive activities taking place there.

All in all, the morning was beneficial for everyone. AmeriCorps members were able to directly impact a local community garden that serves a great community need, and the Somali women were able to ensure that their garden space would be safe and undamaged. In addition, many of the one-time volunteers are now interested in regularly volunteering at the garden, and are more aware of the challenges and successes that surround the large Somali refugee population in Columbus.

(Sarah Lenkay serves as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, where she is working to organize produce distributions at food pantries and building capacity for community gardens in Franklin County.)

Ohio Pork Farmers Donate to Those in Need

"We are so thankful for our state's selfless network of pork farmers and their want to donate pork to those in need. Their desire to be part of the solution to Ohio's growing hunger epidemic could not come at a better time," said OASHF Executive Director Lisa Hamler-Fugitt.

During the 2011 Easter season, the Ohio Pork Producers Council (OPPC) is excited to donate more than 12,000 pounds of highly nutritious, protein-packed pork products to Ohio's emergency food assistance network.

"Ohio's pork farmers hope to provide 500,000 meals to Ohioans in need through the Pork Power program," said Dick Isler, Executive Vice President of OPPC. "This compassion is rooted in the direct connection and relationships pork farmers have with their communities."

OASHF and its 12 regional Feeding America foodbanks are thankful for the generosity of Ohio's network of pork farmers! Read the full press release here:

ServeOhio Award recognizes National Service members

Congratulations to our SHARECorps and HarvestCorps members! Our National Service programs were honored on Thursday with the 2011 ServeOhio Award for "Outstanding National Service Program" from the Ohio Community Service Council. Hear about why our program was selected here:

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Free Tax Assistance through The Ohio Benefit Bank