Lima Councilor Joins Children’s Hunger Alliance and CareSource to Distribute Free Meals to Children

Lima Third Ward Councilor Carla Thompson joined the staff of Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) and CareSource on June 30th to help distribute free grab-and-go meals to kids at Maple Woods Apartments, one of CHA’s mobile meal stops in Lima.

Thompson said, “I am grateful for this opportunity provided by Children's Hunger Alliance to feed and care for the vulnerable members in our community. Hunger should never be an issue in this country, and I'm happy to support the partnership of Children’s Hunger Alliance and CareSource working together to help address the childhood hunger issue, especially here in Lima.”

“Children should never have to worry where their next meal is coming from,” said CareSource Community Marketing Representative Lisa Taylor. “CareSource is proud to partner with organizations like Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) to supply nutritious food to support children’s overall health.”

The statewide nonprofit is continuing its mobile meal initiative, part of its expanded summer nutrition program, to help close the summer hunger gap for children in need.

Judy Mobley, president and CEO of CHA, said, “The summer break is a time when many disadvantaged children are at greater risk of experiencing hunger as they lose access to school and afterschool meals they rely on for their daily nutrition. Thanks to CareSource, many other partners and of course, our committed donors, we’re able to help by providing free meals to children statewide. We know that many families are still recovering financially from the pandemic and these meals are critical for their children.”

United by missions to improve the health and wellbeing of those they serve, CHA and CareSource’s partnership is more significant than ever before as the food insecurity rate for children in Ohio has risen. According to Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization, the estimated number of food-insecure children in Ohio increased to 700,000 – or 1 in 4 – during the pandemic in comparison to 500,000 – or 1 in 5 – before COVID-19.

In February, CareSource announced a $200,000 donation to the statewide nonprofit that will help fund summer meals in addition to afterschool and school break meals throughout the next two years.

CareSource’s Life Services program addresses crucial social determinants of health like food insecurity. The Life Services strategy includes a robust hunger initiative focused on three aspects of hunger issues – food access, food insecurity and food education. We believe that many of the hunger issues that individuals face are symptoms of bigger root issues like poverty, disparity, racism and discrimination. We are committed to assisting our members and providing them with greater access for socioeconomic needs, physical and clinical needs and behavioral health needs.