In a state ranked as the seventh largest economy in the nation, even one child going hungry in Ohio is one too many. Unfortunately, one in five children in the Buckeye State are living with food insecurity, meaning their families can’t always afford to give them the nutrition they need to thrive.

What will it take to end childhood hunger in Ohio, and how do we address it year-round?

At Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA), we provide meals to children right where they are — in childcare, at school, after school, over weekends, and during the summer — while also increasing participation in school breakfast and awareness of other resources. In 2024, we provided nearly 11 million nutritious meals to over 160,000 kids in collaboration with over 1,800 partners across Ohio. Our meals meet the most basic need for children as they grow, and our nutrition education efforts set them up for a lifetime of healthy eating. 

Since 1970, CHA has worked with schools, libraries, recreation centers, foodbanks, and other statewide and local organizations to increase food security and nutrition education in our communities. We know that hungry children don’t learn as quickly, earn lower test scores, and experience more behavioral issues. Our work targets the problem directly so kids will be ready to learn and eventually earn.

Getting food to kids in the summer poses unique challenges. As school ends and many kids head for summer camp or vacation, more than 500,000 children in Ohio lose consistent access to nutritious meals. To address this, CHA almost doubled our Summer Meals sites to over 200 locations over the past two years.

Our programs represent the ultimate public-private partnership, a necessity for solving big problems. And CHA has the infrastructure and public goodwill to do this work efficiently. If we’re able to increase our services by 5 percent per year over the next 10 to 15 years, we could see an Ohio where every child has a nutritious meal every day. This gives us hope that we can achieve and sustain our goal. 

We know it will take a group effort between families, community members, government, and corporate and nonprofit partners to make sure every child in every corner of Ohio gets the food they need to thrive every day of the year. Our future depends on how we support Ohio’s kids!