COLUMBUS – Children’s Hunger Alliance honored five Program of the Year recipients at its 24th annual Menu of Hope luncheon in front of 700 guests at the Hyatt Regency on Monday, Feb. 25.
Each honoree was selected based on their notable work in helping provide healthy and nutritious meals to children and making a difference in their communities. Included honorees were:
Tracy Stainer, Owner of the Kid’s Garden; Childcare Center of the Year, Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Patricia Keaton; In-Home Childcare Provider of the Year from Portsmouth, Ohio
Logan-Hocking School District; School Breakfast Program of the Year, Logan, Ohio
Hillsboro School District; Summer Nutrition Program of the Year, Hillsboro, Ohio
Glenwood Community Center – Columbus Recreation and Parks; Afterschool Program of the Year, Columbus, Ohio
Monte Bainter, Superintendent Logan-Hocking School District; Jessica Walker, Food Service Director for Hillsboro City Schools; Francine Grace, Recreational Leader for Glenwood Community Center along with Ms. Keaton and Ms. Stainer accepted their award on stage presented by Judy Mobley, President and CEO of Children’s Hunger Alliance and Board Chair, Susan Gueli.
“Over 500,000 children in our state live in food insecure homes – meaning they don’t know when they’ll eat next,” Mobley said. “Our partnerships with providers, like those honored at Menu of Hope, is critical in helping these children in need.”
In the last two years, Children’s Hunger Alliance has provided nearly 14 million meals and snacks to underserved children through its partnership with program providers across Ohio. Video testimonials for each program honoree sharing heartfelt stories about their work were featured during the ceremony. Walker, Summer Nutrition Program honoree, said in her video, “Children’s Hunger Alliance is the reason why we fed 38,000 meals in two years.”
The luncheon was hosted by WSYX ABC 6 news anchors, Stacia Naquin, and Bob Kendrick and featured keynote speaker, Jeannette Walls, author of New York Times best-selling memoir, The Glass Castle.
Walls spoke to the audience about her life growing up in extreme poverty and emerging from it. She hopes that sharing her story will inspire others to help those who are down.
“That’s why I love the theme of today’s lunch, Menu of Hope. It’s not just about food folks,” Walls said. “It’s also about giving these kids belief in themselves and belief they deserve something better than they have right now.
“Once you’re able to give back, the world opens up.”
Children’s Hunger Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization providing healthy meals and snacks, nutrition education and physical activity to food-insecure children to help end childhood hunger.
