No Kid Hungry invests $3 million in early-childhood organizations, including 11 in New York
“This funding will help ensure our youngest New Yorkers have access to the food they need to grow and thrive,” says No Kid Hungry New York Director Rachel Sabella.
New York, NY: Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign will invest $3 million in grants to organizations focused on early childhood, including 11 child care providers and healthcare centers in New York. Organizations will use the grants to provide more meals to families, increase enrollment in food assistance programs and connect New Yorkers to food banks, pantries and other vital services. The grants are part of an ongoing effort to decrease food insecurity among children under the age of six.
At the height of the pandemic, 22.9 percent of parents with children under the age of six faced hunger and hardship in the previous month. As early childhood is the most intensive period of brain and body development, hunger and hardship at this age can have long-term implications for children.
These flexible, year-long grants will help organizations provide healthy food to young kids and their families.
“Children under the age of six are facing hunger at alarming rates, which can have a lasting impact on their health, development, and readiness to learn,” says No Kid Hungry New York Director Rachel Sabella. “The organizations we’re granting to in New York have deep roots in the neighborhoods and communities they serve and a strong understanding of the needs of children and their families. This funding will help fuel their work and make sure our youngest New Yorkers have access to the food they need to grow and thrive.”
The No Kid Hungry grants will serve more than 120 early child care centers, healthcare providers and community organizations who work with an estimated 170,000 children under the age of five in 34 states and the District of Columbia.
The Dominican Women’s Development Center in Washington Heights will use its grant to expand its emergency food program to 70 more families, providing them with culturally appropriate food pantry staples and tokens for fresh produce at local farmers markets. The Sunset Park Family Health Center will use its grant to increase outreach, screenings and enrollment of local families in programs like WIC and SNAP. Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services will use its grant to connect more pregnant mothers and families with young children in local food distribution, food banks and pantries.
The 11 organizations funded in New York include:
- Sunset Park Health Council Inc. dba Family Health Centers at NYU Langone
- NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital
- Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco)
- Saint Jemuel Group Family DayCare
- Kingsbridge Heights Community Center
- Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial, Inc.
- Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services
- Arab American Family Support Center
- Shorefront YM-YWHA of Brighton-Manhattan Beach, Inc.
- Cornell Cooperative Extension – Tompkins County
- Dominican Women’s Development Center – Healthy Families Washington Heights