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September 2013 Annual Meeting9:30‐11 am

TBNTEH Annual Meeting Agenda

• Welcome and What is TBNTEH • Hunger Assessment in Tampa Bay • Fresh Produce Distribution• Community Gardens• Education Initiatives• Child Hunger• Senior Hunger• Transportation Innovation Group• Closing Remarks

Vision - To Build a hunger-free community, in which there is access to nutritious food for all.

Mission – To end hunger in Tampa Bay by bringing people together to find solutions that eliminate barriers, increase access, and expand the amount of nutritious food available.

Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger

Core Values

Fostering CollaborationEmbracing ChangeInspiring HopeIncreasing AwarenessPromoting HealthCreating ImpactMeasuring Results

Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger

Primary Customers

Organizations and individuals who are:

- Connected to one or more aspects of our community’s food system (production, distribution, retail, consumption, waste management

- and concerned about the implication of hunger in our region (health, environment, educations, econonic, social justice)

Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger

Who We Are

• Feeding America Tampa Bay• Metropolitan Ministries• Religious Community Services (RCS)• Tampa Bay Harvest• St Pete Free Clinic• Daystar Life Center• ECHO of Brandon• United Food Bank of Plant City• Salvation Army• Meals on Wheels of Tampa• Lighthouse Ministries• 211 Tampa Bay Cares• Shepherd Center of Tarpon Springs• Florida Impact

• United Way Suncoast• Pinellas County Health and Human 

Services• Hillsborough County Health Department• Pasco County Health Department• Department of Children and Family• City of  St Petersburg• Tampa Urban Food Forum• Hillsborough Family and Aging• University of Florida Extension 

(Pinellas/Hillsborough/Pasco)• Hispanic Service Council• Moffitt Cancer Center• Target• Whitwam Organics

What We Do - We Do As Teams

• Work Teams formed and operating ( we have been in existence for over two years)

– Governance and Communications‐ TBNEH Board– Community Hunger Assessment and Research‐ Pat Rogers– Community Gardens‐ Tampa Bay Harvest– Fresh Produce Distribution‐ Feeding America TB, RCS– Can Do Project‐ City of St Pete– Education‐ County Extension Services, Science Center of Pinellas– Childhood Hunger‐ Hills/Pinellas/Pasco Schools, Florida Impact– Homebound/Seniors – Meals on Wheels, Area Agency on Aging– Agency Capacity‐ St Pete Free Clinic, Metropolitan Ministries– Transportation – Urban planning

Hunger Assessment ‐Meal Gap

Meal Gap with Agencies

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Summary of Gap ResearchFor Hills, Pinellas, Pasco

Meal Gap – farmer’s market locations, bus routes, supermarkets

Meal Gap – farmer’s market locations, bus routes

Hunger Assessment ‐ Key Takeaways• Level of resources have increased during past years – great community response and still needed! • There are still gaps – distribution of the food or resources available to do this effort remain a problem, e.g., food donations are  more perishable• The people who are hungry represent different access issues, e.g., children vs seniors vshomeless, vs working poor.

Fresh Produce Distribution

‐ Feeding America Tampa Bay – Sylvia Kapous

‐Religious Community Services (RCS) – Jerry Coleman

Who We Are…‐We are Tampa Bay’s largest hunger relief organization. 

‐ The Food Bank solicits donations of food from farmers, producers and manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and supermarkets, and collects additional products through organized community food drives

‐ Our mission is to feed Tampa Bay’s hungry in partnership with our donors and communities through a regional network of 600 hunger relief charities

Where is Food Coming From?

Additional Meals by 20151,158,000,000

National Growth Channels for Meals 2010-2015

1/5/2014 1710

Farmers Feeding Florida Produce Projections

Traditional Pantry Model

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Mobile Pantry

Partnership to distribute produce to the community!

Who We Are…

• RCS Food Bank‐ Clearwater Florida• Provides for an average of 5300 individuals monthly – 49% are children under 14

• Providing on average 65,000 meals monthly• Administer the USDA TEFAP Program (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) to 66 sub‐sites in Pinellas county providing an additional 168,000 meals on average monthly

Distribution in Pinellas County

Identify needShare informationCollaboration among agenciesResource cooperationShare networking connectionsTake actionStrive for consistency

Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger 2013

Fresh Produce distributed in Pinellas County since October 2012 to date:155, 950lbs124,760 meals$277,604

Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger 2013

Community Gardens

‐ Tampa Bay Harvest – Will Carey, Tuyet Case

Community Gardens

Will Carey: Tampa Bay Harvest

• Challenge: access to fresh, healthy food; Solution: build a community garden.

• Steps• Research sustainable options• Reach out to the experts – Whitwam

Organics & Morningstar Fishermen • Find partner sites• Obtain Funding• Build Gardens

Community Gardens

Will Carey: Tampa Bay Harvest

Where is Will Carey?

Community Gardens

Will Carey: Tampa Bay Harvest

Community Gardens

Will Carey: Tampa Bay Harvest

Community Gardens

• What have we done

• Built 5 gardens in Hillsborough & Pinellas County areas.

• Adapted model - “Sustainable Living Project” which emphasizes education and a sustainable lifestyle.

• Since April 2013 over 1,400 Lbs. of fresh produce has been harvested.

• Preparing for Phase 2 - Aquaponics

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Community Gardens

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Community Gardens

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Community Gardens

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Community Gardens

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Community Gardens

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Community Gardens

• Challenges • Enthusiasm in the beginning fades• Lack of structure to recruit and direct

volunteers

• Solutions - Partnered with other agencies to take over Pinellas gardens – ex SUAC - Partnered with Workforce Alliance in Hillsborough to provide free labor in exchange for training/education- Business & organization partnering

Community Gardens

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Community Gardens

Next Steps

• SLP – Phase 2- Aquaponics and related issues.• Collaboration/Partnerships Expansion• Experiential Education• Job Skill Training• Good weather

Education Initiatives

‐Pinellas Ext Services, Univ of Fl/IFAS – Nan Jensen

‐ Science Center of Pinellas – Joe Cuenco/Mandy Wood

‐ Florida Action for Healthy Kids – Dan Caccamo

Education: Educate the community about hunger and food security

Identified and compiled resources  

Identified partnerships to expand garden locations/urban agriculture

Conducted educational programs in the community 

Education: Resource list

• Database of produce stands and farmers markets

• Location of school and community gardens• List of educational materials to support to nutrition and gardening programs

Education: Completed 18 fact sheets on seasonal produce

• Why you should eatfresh produce 

• How to buy• How to handle • Recipes       

•

Partnering to Expand Community Gardens/Urban Agriculture

Education:

• City of St. Pete• Sweetwater Farms• Edible Peace Patch Project• SUAC ( Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition)

• St. Petersburg Chamber

Education: Outreach in the Community

University of Florida/IFAS ExtensionProvide nutrition education programs in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties

Expanded Nutrition Education ProgramFamily Nutrition ProgramOther Extension funded programs

Education: Outreach in the Community

University of Florida/IFAS ExtensionWork in schools, faith based organizations, non profits, housing complexes, recreation facilities, clinics, etc.

Audiences include school aged youth, parents of young children, senior citizens

Education: Outreach in the Community

University of Florida/IFAS ExtensionReaching people through:• Cooking classes• Nutrition workshops • Grocery store tours • Gardening

Education: Outreach in Schools

Healthy District Awards‐ 23 Next generation Sunshine State Standards

Focus on nutrition education through health curriculum

Integrating Nutrition Education in STEM curriculum

Science, Math, and Language Arts

Education: Outreach in Schools

Joint Usage Agreements• After School Care w/curriculum requirements

• Care of school gardens on weekends and summer

Education: Outreach in Schools

Vision

GardenSize 

(Acres) # EggsLbs 

VeggiesPeople Served 

Annually

Faith House Community 0.5 9500 7000 2400

Oakdale Community 0.5 3000 420

Faith Covenant Church  0.5 7200 3,500

Pinellas Pioneer Village  0.8 7000 6,300

Totals 1.25  9500 24,200 12,620

10K PEOPLE PER ACRE

Child Hunger

‐ Hills County Schools Nutrition Svcs‐ MaryKate Harrison

‐ Florida Impact – Christina Sudduth

Childhood Hunger in Tampa Bay

Mary Kate Harrison, Ph.D., General Manager,Student Nutrition Services

The Problem• Almost 62% of children in Hillsborough County qualify for a Free or 

Reduced Priced Meal – an increase of 12% from 5 years ago– 103,987 qualify for free meals– 13,670 for reduced mealsOn average, 6 out of 10 children standing in the serving line are living belowthe poverty line483 children are Homeless523 children are fromFoster Homes619 are Migrant

Significant “Rules” that GovernChild Nutrition Programs

• All Florida districts are required to have public schools participate in the National School Lunch Program

• All Florida districts are required to have elementary schools participate in the National School Breakfast Program

• All Florida districts are required to offer free breakfast to all students in elementary schools>80% economically needy

• If school buses are late to school, bus‐riders are still allowed 15 minutes to eat a school breakfast

Ending Childhood Hunger

AccessEducationAwareness

Improving Accessto Meal Benefits

• Adding on‐line applications, as well as continuing to take paper application (>10,000 received this year)

• Using “Direct Certification from SNAP”, which allows food stamp families to automatically qualify for school meal benefits (>71,000 students)

• Using “Direct Certification from Medicaid”, which allows children receiving Medicaid to automatically qualify for meal benefits

• Using “Community Eligibility Option”, which allows all children, in selected schools, to receive free lunch, regardless of their economic status

Improving Access by Offering More Programs

• After School Snack Programs are in more than 160 schools, including: HOST and YMCA (serves ~13,500 daily)

• Summer Feeding Programs are in more than 180 sites, including: Schools, Parks, Recreation Areas, and Cruzin’ Cafes

• Dinner Programs in 4 schools are expected to expand (serves ~ 1,600 daily)

Offering Education to Children to Improve their Ability to Make Healthy Choices

• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable grant in 39 schools exposes children to different products, as well as educates them on nutritional value

• Signage on serving lines tells children what food choices are available and the nutritional content

Improving Access by adding New Concepts to Old Programs

• Free Breakfast for all Children, regardless of economic status– Reduces the “stigma” of free meals– Stresses the importance of children who start the day with “fuel” have been shown to do better in the classroom

– Establishes good eating habits

Improving Access by Adding New Concepts to Old Programs

• Children who qualify for Reduced‐Price Lunches, eat free of charge– Discovered that over half of the children who qualified for “RP” were not participating in the meal program

– Waived the .40 lunch fee for those families who are “reduced‐priced”

– Increased the number of children participating from 48% to 92%

Improving Access by Adding New Concepts to         Old Programs (con’t)mprovi by 

Adding New Concepts to old Programs• Use a variety of service methods to ensure food is easily available in a number of locations– Catches late arriving students– Promotes breakfast service to parents and faculty– Provides flexibility to each individual school

“What Makes a Healthy School Lunch?”

Educating kids about making healthy choices

• A new tray was developed to teach children about how to make healthy choices when moving through the serving line.  The tray corresponds with menu cards posted on the line

Educating with new foods

Weekly SamplingFormer Sample – Now a Menu Staple

“Official” Super Food Testers!

More Local Sourcing• Schools purchasing more local 

foods directly from farmers, via co‐ops & produce distributors.

• Farm to School, kids cooking and school garden programs help get kids excited about healthy choices

To Heighten Awareness ofChild Hunger

• Advocate for policy changes that will make access and implementation easier– National Level – Congress and USDA– State Level – Department of Agriculture and State Legislators

• Involve, and EducateParents

Senior Hunger

‐Meals on Wheels – Steve King

‐ Area Agency on Aging, Pinellas/Pasco – Jason Martino

Review of Tampa Bay Area“Senior Hunger”

A Senior Hunger IllustrationMs. Jones is aged 82, widowed, and lives with her two small older dogs in a 

single wide mobile home. She has no children or immediate siblings. She has no car. Her income consists of her late husband’s social security equaling $750 monthly. Ms. Jones has osteo‐arthritis, COPD, and some memory impairments. Her monthly bills consist of $400 for rental mobile home land, $150 in the summer for electricity, $75 for city resources, and $50 for telephone and basic cable television. She has no computer nor does she understand how to use one.

At the end of the month, Ms. Jones has $75 for necessities, including human food, dog food and the costs her prescriptions. Ms. Jones makes critical monthly decisions on how to prioritize her expenses. In some cases, she does not fill her prescriptions and in other cases she prioritizes dog food over human food. 

Ms. Jones is food insecure and one step away from homelessness or a skilled nursing facility given a medical emergency should arise.

This is not an uncommon scenario!  

National Senior Hunger Facts• 34% increase in senior hunger in the U.S. since 2007.

• Florida ranked in the top 10 states for highest senior hunger risk.

• 16.64% of Florida seniors are at risk for hunger.• 67% of seniors nationwide do not participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Facts Continued….• African American seniors are at 132% higher risk of hunger than white seniors.

• Hispanic Seniors are at 131% higher risk for hunger than non‐Hispanics.

• 58.3% of seniors aged 60 to 69 are at risk for hunger.

The Hillsborough County Picture• 17.4% or 218,520 individuals are aged 60+• 55.2% are female• 14% or 32,243 individuals have two or more disabilities effecting hearing, vision, cognitive ability, ambulation, self‐care, or independent living

• 24.2% or 53,093 individuals live alone• 9.7 % live below the poverty threshold, and• Approximately 32,179 or 14.7% individuals aged 60+ are potentially eligible for Food Stamps (SNAP)

Given the Age Wave, These Numbers will Increase! 

The Pinellas County Picture• 29.3% or 269,400 individuals are aged 60+• 55.4% are female• 14% or 38,150 individuals have two or more disabilities effecting hearing, vision, cognitive ability, ambulation, self‐care, or independent living

• 30% or 80,921 individuals live alone• 9.2 % live below the poverty threshold, and• Approximately 37,797 or 14% individuals aged 60+ are potentially eligible for Food Stamps (SNAP)

Given the Age Wave, These Numbers will Increase! 

The Pasco County Picture• 27.6% or 130,652 individuals are aged 60+• 54.2% are female• 12.9% or 16,966 individuals have two or more disabilities effecting hearing, vision, cognitive ability, ambulation, self‐care, or independent living

• 22.1% or 28,957 individuals live alone• 8.6 % live below the poverty threshold, and• Approximately 17,795 or 13.6% individuals aged 60+ are potentially eligible for Food Stamps (SNAP)

Given the Age Wave, These Numbers will Increase! 

Barriers for Ending Senior Hunger

• Growing senior population.• Skipping meals to pay for medications or other bills.

• Home bound or no access to transportation.• Funding cuts.• Rising cost of food and fuel.

Services Available to Qualifying Seniors

• Older Americans Act– C1‐Congregate Meals– C2‐Home‐Delivered Meals

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program

What Others in Florida Are Doing to End Senior Hunger

• Food Banks, Florida Association of Food Banks• Farmers Feeding Florida• Commodity Supplemental Food Program• Community Pantries• Community Fund Raisers• Senior Centers• Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger

The Take Away Message• Encourage SNAP enrollment• Government services are limited• Local action

– Hunger Network Mapping– Local charities– Community fund raisers– Support your local Senior Nutrition Provider monetarily or through volunteerism

Transportation Innovation Group

Kevin Salzer, AICPTIG Chairkevinsalzer@gmail.com

What Transportation Means to the TBNTEH  

Access

Safe effective distribution

TIG Overarching Goal  

To provide a collaborative framework for improving transportation issues 

surrounding food

Key TIG Focus Areas

1. Food deserts2. Transit access3. Transportation disadvantaged4. Food safety and transport

1. Food Deserts

"An area in the United States with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed of predominantly lower‐income neighborhoods and communities." (U.S. Farm Bill, 2008)

2. Transit Access• Adequate transit access means living within a 3/4 mile of a local bus route

• 123,172 of the 376,826 (1 out of 3) food insecure people in Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco lack adequate access to transit 

3. Transportation DisadvantagedPeople who are unable to transport themselves or to purchase transportation because of:

‐ disability‐ income status‐ age 

This causes them to be dependent upon others to obtain access to other life‐sustaining activities.

4. Food Safety and Transport

• Transporting perishable goods home safely

• Safe storage of food

Closing Remarks

‐ Religious Community Services (RCS) – Caitlin Higgins Joy

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Contact information

TBNTEH Board members

Chair – Pat RogersVice‐Chair – Caitlin Higgins Joy, RCSSecretary – Cliff Smith, City of St PeteTreasurer – Duggan Cooley, United Way Pasco

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Contact information

Website ‐ networktoendhunger.org

Email – info@networktoendhunger.org

Project Coordinator – Caitlyn Peacock813‐344‐5837