Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 133

CHAPTER 4
IHN estimated it needed about 27 million additional meals per year to achieve its goal of
feeding everyone in the Indianapolis region who is hungry. To realize this goal, contributions
are needed from both public and private programs. SNAP can fill some of the meal gap,
but it cannot do it all. Feeding America’s research shows that 42 percent of the food-insecure
people in the Indianapolis region have incomes too high to be eligible for federal nutrition
programs,9 which means their only sources of food assistance are private charities.
Food drives and pancake breakfasts to raise charitable contributions are fun group
activities and opportunities to educate the community about hunger, but they are not
going to fill a 27-million-meal
gap. That’s where the business
Figure 4.3 Summer Boost in Children’s SNAP Benefits
community comes in. Dave

Reduces Hunger
Miner shows the pie chart to
Share of children in study with very low food security*
business leaders in the community, and they can see how much
7%
their contribution matters. India6.74%
6
napolis may not have any more
than its share of big-hearted busi5
ness leaders who want to help
5.49%
end hunger, but many business
4
leaders in Indy are inspired by
the fact that someone is using
3
data and analysis to solicit their
2
support. “So many have told
me how grateful they are we’re
1
quantifying,” says Dave. “They
find the goal of ending hunger
0
inspiring but the fact that we are
Children not receiving
Children receiving
summer SNAP benefits
summer SNAP benefits
quantifying it has inspired their
confidence.” That confidence
*Very low food security = hunger. Results shown here cover the three states where benefits
translates into financial and
were delivered through SNAP.
human resources and greater
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2013). Based on U.S. Department of
levels of commitment to working
Agriculture Summer Survey, 2011.
with IHN.
In Indianapolis as everywhere else in the nation, the summer meals program is the
weakest link in the child nutrition programs. The program is intended to reduce the risk
of child hunger during the months when school is out of session, but participation rates
are one-sixth those of the school lunch and breakfast programs. The barriers to increasing
participation in the summer meals programs are well understood. The main barrier in
Indianapolis is that parents don’t know the program exists. Lack of transportation is also
a barrier.
In 2011, IHN set out to rebrand the summer meals programs in Indianapolis, giving it
a new name, Summer Servings, a website, and a high-profile launch via the mayor’s office.
There isn’t much that Indy’s mayor, Greg Ballard, can do to improve the program on the
policy side since federal officials make most of the policy decisions that affect program
www.bread.org/institute?

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