The Blanchester Public Library was honored with the Summer Program of the Year award at the Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) annual event, “Menu of Hope,” on March 7.
The event raised nearly $500,000 to help provide meals to Ohio’s hungry children. The event featured stories about how Children’s Hunger Alliance and their partners are working every day to make a difference in the life of a child experiencing food insecurity.
According to the news release, “Blanchester Public Library began partnering with CHA in 2022, to get assistance in providing summer meals to area children. From their strong compliance efforts to creating their own program advertising and systems; our work together has been incredibly effective. CHA is having a great impact in the Blanchester area due to their drive to create a fun, safe, and enriching food service at the library.”
This year’s special guest at the CHA event was TEDx presenter and inspirational speaker Alex Sheen, who is the founder of “Because I Said I Would,” a social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept. Alex shared several stories of those that influenced his life and how promises kept have a positive impact on local communities. He and his organization decided to make a substantial gift to CHA and the Year-Round Food Access program.
CareSource, a supporter of CHA since 2027, was presented with the 2024 Community Impact Award. CareSource corporate and the CareSource Foundation have invested nearly $1.2 million dollars in CHA since becoming a partner. Two years ago, they moved into making multi-year commitments that benefit CHA from a dollar and strategic planning perspective. Most importantly, they have provided unrestricted funds so that CHA can fill the gaps as needed and make a greater impact.
Nearly 400,000 children in Ohio are struggling with hunger and do not know when they will have their next meal. CHA partners with over 1,300 organizations throughout the state to provide millions of meals annually to at-risk children. Funds raised through events like Menu of Hope support the programs that provide access to food for children and help them live a healthy life.
