Understanding Childhood Hunger

Our State Partnerships to End Childhood Hunger in America

As our first state partner in our strategy to end childhood hunger, The Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation's Capital has achieved significant milestones.

Since its inauguration in April 2006, the Partnership has lent a strong hand to provide free breakfast for all 20,057 children attending the District’s public schools, double participation in its free summer meals programs and bring more than 7,000 new children into afterschool snack programs.

Share Our Strength develops state partnerships like these to activate our national strategy to end childhood hunger in key states. The partnerships address state-specific needs, priorities and resources that are aligned with our national 10-point plan.

Our role is to provide seed funding and to:

  • Establish these partnerships with organizations that demonstrate statewide influence and success in childhood hunger relief.
  • Provide ongoing leadership to the partnerships.
  • Help the partnerships develop their own state-specific plans, based on our national 10-point plan.
  • Help the partnerships build their capacity to execute their plans .
  • Promote and conduct outreach on behalf of the partnership.
  • Monitor, evaluate and report progress, results and impact.

Since 2004, Share Our Strength has established state partnerships in the District of Columbia, Florida and Washington State.

What Are State Partnerships?

On a state-by-state basis, Share Our Strength is developing long-term partnerships with leading nonprofits that demonstrate statewide influence and solid success in hunger relief and advocacy. These Partnerships to End Childhood Hunger lead the charge to end childhood hunger in their own state by addressing its specific needs, priorities and resources and aligning them with our national strategy to end childhood hunger in America.

Specifically, these partnerships lend their strength to:

  • Develop and implement state-specific plans modeled after our national 10-point plan to end childhood hunger.
  • Raise funds and build leadership.
  • Advocate for national, state and local programs that support the plans.
  • Report progress, results and impact.