Blaine County Hunger Coalition Inc

Programs: This year, 238,558 total pounds distributed through our food programs to 3,497 people in need in our community. During the reporting period, we expanded our program reach to include a farm and youth internship program. For the reporting period, specific program accomplishments are as follows: mobile food bank: during this time period, the mobile food bank program distributed the equivalent of 159,089 meals' worth of essential supplemental nutrition to local families and individuals experiencing hunger. For the 620 children and adults receiving food assistance monthly, we were able to provide 6,495 food boxes. Over 36% of those being served (continued on schedule o) (continued from page 2)through the mobile food bank during the reporting period were children. In addition to our food boxes,we also distribute pet food through our mobile food bank. Initiated in 2010, paws for hunger is a collaboration between our local animal shelter and the hunger coalition. The program addresses the needs of individuals and families with a pet who find themselves in a position of having to choose between feeding their family and feeding their beloved pet. For families already facing seemingly insurmountable challenges and children coping with circumstances that can be frightening, it is beneficial for all to keep these families and pets together. During the reporting period, we distributed a record high 1,104 bags of pet food to families in need.

food rescue: consisting of grocery store rescue and garden and farm gleaning, our food rescue program is an important part of our efforts to end hunger in our community while conserving resources. Through gleaning, we brought in 7,691 pounds of fresh, local fruits and vegetables. By means of weekly pick-up of perishable and non-perishable foods from local grocery stores, nearly 69,000 pounds of rescued foods were distributed through our mobile food bank. Food drives also brought in over 12,000 pounds of non perishable goods donated to families in need. Altogether, our food rescue program contributed nearly 89,000 pounds of fresh and non perishable foods to our food programs.

children's food programs: our children's food programs consists of our snack pack program, infant formula initiative, daily bites and summer food program. Initiated in 2008, the snack pack program, is specifically designed to feed hungry students over the weekends and after school when they are outside the safety net of the school meals program. Program-specific food orders provide healthy, shelf-stable, easy to prepare food that children take home at the end of every week to supplement their overall nutrition on the weekends and after school. During the 2016-2017 school year, over 6,400 snack packs full of easy-to-prepare meals and snacks were distributed to nearly 200 local school children facing hunger. (continued on schedule o) (continued from page 2) we began our infant formula initiative at the end of 2005 in response to reports from public health and other community agencies that many families were experiencing difficulty in providing sufficient nourishment for their infants. While many new mothers qualify for government subsidies of formula, the amount provided is not always sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of their new babies. This service provides vital nutrition and nourishment to infants who would otherwise be at serious risk of experiencing chronic hunger. This program is not an ongoing source of assistance for a family. It fills a crucial need in the lives of the most vulnerable members of our community. During this reporting time period, we provided the equivalent of 4,635 bottles of infant formula, giving out 309 twelve and a half ounce cans of formula to supplement infants' nutritional levels. Daily bites was launched in public schools and summer camps throughout blaine county in response to feedback from teachers, parents and students about the challenges children in need continue to face in our community. This program supplies a healthy snack and supplemental food pantry to support students in need. During the reporting period, over 6,500 pounds of nutritious supplemental snacks were provided to 1,400 children. There are many children in our community who suffer from summer learning loss and increased food insecurity while outside the school safety net due to transportation barriers. In response to this, we purchased a food and book mobile to travel to isolated neighborhoods throughout the county, bringing children in need critical nutrition and educational activities to keep them engaged and thriving over the summer. During the reporting period, we expanded our summer food program, partnering with the community library and other local organizations offering enrichment activities to provide an on-site lunch and activity experience for several low income neighborhoods. Through the reporting period, 276 children were provided nearly 4,500 meals and engagement opportunities thanks to our summer food program.

other programs food production: as part of our ongoing efforts to find new, innovative ways to build community through food, our food production programs expanded beyond our 10,000 square foot hope garden to include the new 1-acre bloom community farm. During the reporting period, we built the infrastructure for the farm - fencing, storage and work sheds, greenhouse and fully-functional open air kitchen - to house a variety of our programs and programs led by our partners. Programs such as the hunger coalition-led volunteers for veggies program, which brought in over 220 adults and children who gave an hour of their time each week working the farm or garden in exchange for a basket of fresh produce. Partners like the local university extension office were able to utilize the space to bring kids groups during summer camp to make healthy smoothies from produce grown at the farm and picked by the children. Food production at the garden and farm provided nearly 2,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs to our food programs during the reporting period. Resiliency programs: in keeping with our stated mission, we actively address the underlying causes of hunger and promote long-term solutions through collaboration, education and advocacy. During the reporting period, the hunger coalition conducted several series of cooking matters nutrition education courses in conjunction with the idaho foodbank. 65 adults and kids graduated from cooking matters, preparing and learning about cooking healthy foods for themselves and their families. Five women participated in our first financial literacy workshop, aimed at providing financial knowledge and skills to clients to help them gain independence and move beyond our food lines. Additionally, over 300 school age children participated in food and nutrition workshops at our farm and garden. Also new during the reporting period, our bloom youth intern program was created to engage deeply with a small group of young adults to help them build important life skills to grow into healthy, thriving adults. This seven-month, paid internship program brought 10 teens at risk of food insecurity to our bloom community farm space to plant, grow, harvest and sell a variety of fresh, healthy foods. Interspersed with the farm work, the teens participated in skills-building workshops such as financial literacy, healthy eating and resume writing. The teen interns developed smart goals and financial goals for the seven-month program. They also created and ran a reduced-price mobile market in low-income neighborhoods where they were afforded the opportunity to engage with other community members in need, including the elderly, while learning to run a business.