Greetings and Happy New Year!
As End Child Hunger looks to the year 2017, we are filled with hope and motivation. End Child Hunger SC, as it exists today, began two years ago. Since that time we have held tightly to our mission to build awareness, increase community capacity, and create a coordinated effort to address childhood hunger in the Palmetto State. While we continue to grow and expand our impact, the fact remains that too many children in our state face food insecurity. South Carolina food insecurity holds steady at 1 in 4 children, continuing to be worse than the national average of 1 in 5.
Since our beginning we have known that simply saying we want to make a change isn’t nearly as effective as going out and making a change. Below are some of our plans for this coming year, the changes we will make in 2017 to reach the goal within our name.
- Establish a new community garden
- Implement a neighborhood-based cooking matters class in Richland County
- Recruit new summer food service program and afterschool meal program sites
- Host the third annual End Child Hunger SC Week
- Provide outreach to various anti-child hunger programs
- Capture the stories of families to share with community leaders
This New Year gives us an opportunity to turn South Carolina’s child hunger around, and we are starting right here. The Family Champion Leader Blog will provide monthly updates on our progress, tell stories of our community, and share ways that you can make a difference. Additionally, we will begin providing healthy and affordable recipes. Your help is important though: we need you to help us get the word out, put ideas into practice, and support End Child Hunger SC. It is our hope that you will take what you read here and share it with your community.