Fighting childhood hunger one meal at a time WH O WE ARE • Filling in the Blanks (“FITB”) fights childhood hunger by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. • With the obstacle of food insecurity removed, children experience increased academic achievement and opportunities for success • Currently serving 3,200 children at 63 schools and community centers in Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, New Canaan, Westport, Bridgeport, CT and Bedford Hills, NY • FITB provides healthy, easy to prepare meal kits for students, over the weekend when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available. OVER 1 MILLION HUNGER IN OUR COMMUNITIES 1 in 4 Children , in the US, do not know where their next meal is coming from 31,540 Children in Fairfield County are HUNGRY IN THE LAST 12 MONTH 73% of food pantry clients had to choose between food or utilities. 63% had to choose between food or rent School Year Weekend Meal Program • Our goal is to r emove the obstacle of weekend food insecurity for children in Fairfield and Westchester Counties • Each Friday, c hildren receive a bag with healthy, easy to prepare food items. We estimate the serving size to be sufficient to provide the equivalent of four meals. Holiday Backpacks • Each December, we provide the children in our program with a backpack containing a new hat, gloves, scarf, socks, book, age appropriate toy, pancake mix and syrup • For many of our children, it’s the only gift they will receive during the holidays Summer Meal Program • Summer is a very difficult time for children who rely on the free or reduced school - provided meal programs since they are no t available when school is closed. • To combat this, we distribute our bags at summer camps and community centers. • Our goal is to create a food secure environment year - round. OU R P R OGR A M S FITB’s work, and your contributions, are making a difference in our communities. We have received the following feedback from our parent surveys: ü 100% of teachers/social workers notice that children come to school less hungry on Monday ü 75% of teachers reported a decrease in hunger complaints ü 63% reported a decrease in the following hunger symptoms: tiredness, headache and disruptive behavior ü 100% of schools surveyed reported being satisfied with the Weekend Meal Program ü 90% of caregivers gave us a Net Promoter score of 10, meaning they would highly recommend us to other schools with food insecure children POSITIVE OU TC OM ES During the COVID - 19 pandemic, it was critical for FITB to continue serving the most vulnerable children in our communities. With school closures, weekend meals became even more vital. With many parents unable to work, families faced increased financial hardship and food insecurity. A recent FITB survey of current participants reported that 70% of our families had an increased need for food, since the beginning of the pandemic. Delivery of Meals In collaboration with local school districts, town governments and other nonprofits, we created new delivery methods designed to reach our children and other food insecure families during this crisis. We utilized grab n’ go sites, town bussing, community centers, food pantries, and we even made home deliveries. Increased Need for Meals School closures created an increase of 1,000 children per week who needed the FITB food assistance program for the first time. Increased Food Costs FITB’s nutritionist - approved menu items were in high demand during COVID causing several items to became unavailable or at a significantly increased purchase price (up to 50% on select items). C OVID - 1 9 IM PAC T Feeds 20 children every weekend Feeds 6 children every weekend Feeds 60 children every weekend Feeds 1 child every weekend YOUR MONEY AT WORK $ 380 1 3 K $ 2,280 $ 7,600 $22 , 80 0 YOU R M ON EY AT WOR K Filling in the Blanks commits to serve each partner school for a minimum of three years. Consider matching FITB’s commitment with a three - year commitment of your own! CHOOSE YOUR YEARLY IMPACT 346 Main Ave, Suite 3 A Norwalk, C T 06851 www.fillingintheblanks.org Cheryl Tierney Director of Development ctierney@fillingintheblanks.org Shawnee Knight Co - Founder, Co - President sknight@fillingintheblanks.org Tina Kramer Co - Founder, Co - President tkramer@fillingintheblanks.org L ET’ S BE IN TOU C H ...