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Jeffco Eats has in past two years reached out to the families living in Lakewood who are refugees.  This month we are doing a targeted food drive for some families from Afghanistan and Congo.  We only need foods on list. They have asked for these specific foods and we want to honor them by providing what they are in need of and have chosen.  Please provide foods that are fresh and not expired dated food. We can also use gift cards of $10,$20 or $50 for them to buy halel meats. 

Families range in size from two to nine.  In Metro Denver very few Refugees live on the west side ie: Lakewood.  Let’s show them a generous show of our love and concern for these neighbors.  They are helped by International Rescue Committee in Denver.

http://www.Rescue.org/Denver

Please bring foods to 
St Paul’s Episcopal Church at 9200 W 10th Ave Lakewood.  Please email [email protected] with acknowledgement you will bring foods and provide us with your name, phone and email.  We will advise you hours you can do drop offs.  Mark the package Jeffco Eats Refugee Food Drive.

FOODS FOR FAMILIES – Afghan and Congolese in Green Mountain 

Canned foods and fresh:  chickpeas, fava beans,kidney beans,lentils, 15 lbs jasmine rice, spaghetti, cinnamon, cumin, curry powder, vegetable oil 48 oz, olive oil 16 oz, pepper, salt, tomato paste, tuna, sardines, raisins 12 oz, pomegranate, pita bread, lemons, limes, potatoes. Also need five lb bags flour and sugar.

 She was one of those ’60s people Joni Mitchell sang about, a child of God walking along a road that led to Woodstock. Seeds of goodwill from attending that music festival planted in Barbara Moore’s soul.
But they lay dormant for years, squelched by life in the corporate fast lane. Then Barbara asked herself what she really wanted. “To get back to the garden.”
She learned that more than 200,000 children struggle with hunger every day in Colorado. Some receive free or reduced-cost school lunches. But on weekends, they may go hungry. In one family, the kids play a guessing game: “Who’s going to get to eat this weekend?”
Barbara went into action, and Jeffco Eats was born. Volunteers bag food items and transport them to schools for students to carry home for the weekend.
Meeting needs doesn’t have to come through an organization. One woman I know watches out for latchkey kids on her block, helping them with loose bike chains. A grandfather runs errands for his daughter so she doesn’t have to haul her preschoolers around. A group of women knit hats for homeless teens.
The world’s needs can overwhelm me. But I heard a man say, “Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to stop praying and to start doing.”
Good advice. So I’m part of Barbara’s brigade, filling bags with meals for hungry tummies. We’re transforming the idealism of Woodstock into the reality of foodstock.
Because nobody should be forced to guess who gets to eat this weekend.

https://www.trishhermanson.com/

Barbara wrote a book on Amazon about her life as an organic farmer.  Whether fresh food from an organic farm or staple peanut butter and jelly in jars, our children are hungry and it is one in five. This is a famine amidst the suburban lifestyle of affluence.  Will you consider adopting one of our children who we give food to every week so they are not hungry on the weekend.  

  For 39 weeks during school year it is $4 a week so $ 156.  Or summer is coming and we need to support 650 children a week at $4 per week so that is $2600 a week.  ASK your company you work for or you club or your church to become a regular supporter of Jeffco Eats.  Together we can end childhood hunger in Jefferson County Colorado.  

Our weekend food sacks are healthy and follow the USDA daily plate nutritional menu items.  Title One children receive breakfast, lunch and sometimes after school snacks Monday to Friday. It is real hunger needs for too many students we are reducing. We provide shelf stable foods, produce and snacks. We occasionally provide dairy items .  

Weekly menu in a weekend food sack:

Orange juice, crackers,rice,green beans,fruit cocktail,tomatoes,chili.

Mac and Cheese,pinto beans,pineapple,soup,peanut butter,crackers,orange juice,tomatoes.

Jelly,spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, shake, creme of mushroom soup,diced tomatoes,peas.

Corn or carrots,oranges,tomato soup,diced tomatoes,peanut butter,mac and cheese, toaster pastries.

We do provide some weeks up to 30 percent organic items. We do provide fresh produce and dairy products to a portion of our schools.

We provide snack bags that are healthy only by request of healthy schools Jeffco.

When a child does not have access to regular meals and is uncertain of when they may eat again, they are experiencing the epidemic known as “chronic childhood hunger.” Families that cannot afford food or do not have regular access to food are considered “food insecure.”

Since 2001-2003, the number of children living in households that were “food insecure” at some point during the year has grown 61 percent in Colorado. By 2006-2008,approximately 234,000 children  or 20 percent of all Colorado kids were “food insecure”. This percentage has recently surpassed the national rate of 19 percent.

Kids experiencing chronic hunger may not only suffer from poor health, but they can also be denied the opportunity to reach their academic, athletic and social potential. Chronically hungry students may have the following issues in the classroom:

• Lack of concentration
• Lethargy or general fatigue
• Stomachaches
• Headaches
• Irritability or mood swings
• Disciplinary problems
• Increased aggression

Recent studies from the American Academy of Pediatrics have shown that the effects of chronic childhood hunger can last a lifetime. Kids not knowing when they may have another meal can cause both anxiety and depression.

Hunger and Poverty in our Community

Hunger and poverty go hand in hand, which is why it is useful to use poverty statistics as a base for hunger statistics.

Chronic childhood hunger exists both above and below the poverty line, as the Federal guidelines for poverty are considered out of date.

• To be considered 100% of poverty, a family of four must earn less than $23,050 per year.
• To be eligible for free/reduced lunch, a family must be at 130% of the federal poverty line or earn less than $40,793 per year.
• To be eligible for free/reduced lunch, a family must earn less than 185% of the federal poverty line or $28,665 per year.

In Colorado, 17% of kids live in poverty

The number of children in poverty has more than doubled since 2000 and the number of children living in extreme poverty (approximately $11,000 for a family of four) has increased 150 percent.

While the childhood poverty rate in Colorado currently remains below the national average, between 2000 and 2009 the number of children living in poverty in Colorado more than doubled, rising faster than any other state in the nation.

School Meal Programs

In Colorado, there has been a steady increase in the number of children participating in the School Breakfast Program. The U.S. increased four percent in the number of children served by the free breakfast program since 2008, while the number of Colorado children increased more than twice as fast with a nine percent increase over the same period.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 54,000 additional children participated in the National School Lunch Program in Colorado in 2009 than in 2005.

In Jefferson County, there are over 27,000 children who are eligible for free and or reduced lunch programs.  

+Data compiled from the Kids Count Colorado 2011 Report

How are Title 1 Funds Used?

How to use Title 1 funds rests with each school. Title 1 funds can be used to improve curriculum, instructional activities, counseling, parental involvement, increase staff and program improvement. The funding should assist schools in meeting the educational goals of low-income students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title 1 funds typically support supplemental instruction in reading and math. Annually, this program reaches over six million students, primarily in the elementary grades.

Types of students that might be served by Title 1 funds include migrant students, students with limited English proficiency, homeless students, students with disabilities, neglected students, delinquent students, at-risk students or any student in need. Students can be classified as at-risk for numerous reasons. A few reasons they might be classified as at-risk students include: low academic performance, being held back a grade for one or more years, or being homeless. There are other criteria that may place students in an at-risk category as well.

Understanding the Basics of Title 1 Funds

written by: Sarah Malburg • edited by: Trent Lorcher • updated: 7/31/2015

Title 1 funds aim to bridge the gap between low-income students and other students. The U.S. Department of Education provides supplemental funding to local school districts to meet the needs of at-risk and low-income students.

• What’s it All About? Most educators, parents and community members have heard the term Title 1 School thrown loosely around, but what is it? Title 1 is the nation’s oldest and largest federally funded program, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Annually, it provides over $14 billion to school systems across the country for students at risk of failure and living at or near poverty. In fact, over the course of the 2009-2010 school year, federal funding through this program was used by over 56,000 public schools nationwide in order for struggling students to meet state standards in a variety of subject areas. Originally, the idea of Title 1 was enacted in 1965 under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This policy committed to closing the achievement gap between low-income students and other students. The policy was rewritten in 1994 to improve fundamental goals of helping at-risk students. With the implementation of No Child Left Behind, schools must make adequate yearly progress on state testing and focus on best teaching practices in order to continue receiving funds.