The Child Hunger Corps (CHC) program was established in 2010 via a partnership between Feeding America and the ConAgra Foods Foundation. The Child Hunger Corps came out of a recommendation of the 2008 Child Hunger Strategy Team. The network identified staffing capacity as one of the largest barriers to being able to expand child hunger programs, and the CHC is intended to address that barrier.
The goal of a CHC member is to assist their food bank in identifying gaps in childhood hunger and implement programs to fill that gap. As it’s only a two-year program, it’s important that the CHC member implement programs that are sustainable within the community.
The CHC is currently in its 6th year of operation with members of Cohort 6 placed at food banks across the country. I was fortunate to be chosen to work with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and to help grow and develop their child hunger programs throughout their service region.
Before joining the CHC, I recently graduated from Berea College (free tuition work-school – check it out!) in Berea, KY with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and minors in Agriculture and Economics. I became interested in food banking and hunger as a kid from rural Ohio from a low-income family. The 2008 recession hit during my freshman year of high school and made my already needy family needier. My family was a part of the “missing class,” or families that don’t qualify for government assistance, but struggle to make ends meet. My parents worked an hour and a half away from home and often spent their entire checks to pay for the utilities, gas, and the mortgage, leaving little money for food. My family relied on a visit to the local food pantry more than once. Consequentially, I am intimately familiar with all flavors of Hamburger Helper. Because of my personal experience with hunger and childhood food insecurity, I have always wanted to give back to those whose shoes I have been in.
Since coming to Central Florida, I have enjoyed the beautiful, warm weather (it’s in the 30s in Ohio), my kind and thoughtful coworkers, and the friendly and outgoing locals in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties. I’m looking forward to working with our agency partners to help reduce childhood food insecurity and take a step towards ending hunger in our communities.
- Cheyanna Johnson