Kids Cafe - "Because my brother is hungry"

The Kids Cafe program began in Savannah, Georgia in 1989 when two boys broke into a community center to steal food from the pantry. When asked why they did it, the older boy answered, "Because my brother is hungry."

This same sort of story inspired start up of the Cincinnati Kids Cafe program when a nine-year-old girl at Newport Church of God sneaked into the church kitchen, got a huge knife and used it to open a quart-size can of ravioli. She was found in the corner of the Sunday School room using a plastic fork to dig the ravioli out of the jagged opening in the can. When discovered, she ran out the door. Betty Cooley, a member of the church, became the site coordinator for the first Kids Cafe program. Soon after it opened, a seven-year-old girl, who had just finished her fifth helping of chicken noodle soup, came to Ms. Cooley asking if she could go home to wake her baby brother. When Betty asked why, the girl said, "Because he went to bed hungry."

The FreestoreFoodbank partners with America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network and local nonprofit agencies to operate the Kids Cafe program where needy children in our community can receive nutritious meals and healthy snacks on a regular basis. The urgency of this need is corroborated by a 2006 report by the Brookings Institution indicating that 35.4% of Cincinnati's children live in poverty. With poverty comes hunger, which can lead to malnutrition in children. Studies have shown that malnutrition in children has significant consequences, affecting their health, behavior and ability to learn.

Health-related consequences of hunger include:
• Poorer overall health status and compromised ability to resist illness
• Elevated occurrence of health problems such as stomachaches, headaches, colds, ear infections, and fatigue
• Greater incidence of hospitalization

Psychosocial and Behavioral consequences of hunger include:
• Higher levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and anxiety as well as passivity
• Difficulty getting along with other children
• Increased need for mental health services

Learning and Academic consequences of hunger include:
• Impaired cognitive functioning and diminished capacity to learn
• Lower test scores and poorer overall school achievement
• Repeating a grade in school
• Increased school absences, tardiness, and school suspension

Source: The Consequences of Hunger and Food Insecurity for Children, Center on Hunger and Poverty, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, June 2002

In addition to nutritious meals, children who attend Kids Cafe receive education on proper nutrition and personal hygiene. They also participate in recreational activities supervised by caring adults in safe environments that protect them from the dangers of their neighborhoods where crime is often prevalent.

Kids Cafe sites are operated in the following neighborhoods by nonprofit community partners of the FreestoreFoodbank:

• West End - Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses
• West End- Jobs for Cincinnati Grads @ Taft High School
• Over-the-Rhine - Our Daily Bread
• Camp Washington - Washington United Church of Christ
• Millvale -
• Evanston - Holistic, Inc.
• Covington City Heights - Neighborhood Investment Partners
• Covington - The Salvation Army
• Newport- The Salvation Army
• Lower Price Hill - Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati
• Lower Price Hill - The Salvation Army
• Winton Terrace-Terrace Guild