Residents & Services: Ending Hunger - Partnerships between Housing Authorities and Food Banks Colleen Reinert, All Faiths Food Bank Becky-Sue Mercer, Arcadia Housing Authority

Learning Objectives Describe the impact hunger has on families living within the housing authority Highlight examples of food bank and housing authority partnerships Identify effective tools and resources to help end hunger

Arcadia Housing Authority To provide safe, affordable housing to low-income families as they strive to improve the quality of their lives and the community. Objectives: Provide decent, well maintained housing, free from drugs and violent crimes Provide and create quality housing opportunities in Desoto County Insure equal opportunities in housing free from discrimination Provide opportunities necessary for residents to achieve self-sufficiency and to be productive members of the community

ALL FAITHS FOOD BANK Together with our partners, we provide health solutions to end hunger in our community. Residents of Sarasota and Desoto counties

DeSoto County Data, Demographics, and Need

Median household income: $35,165 (state average $49,426) Population: 34,957 Number of households: 11, 238 Median household income: $35,165 (state average $49,426) Households below ALICE threshold: 6,535 (58%) ALICE is a United Way acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Employed being the critical word. ALICE represents those who work hard, but due to high costs and factors often beyond their control must live paycheck to paycheck. For many of them, a small emergency can quickly become a major financial crisis. Car repairs and health care emergencies, just to name a few, can plunge these working families over the edge into financial chaos. When this happens, both families and employers are hurt. This groundbreaking report uses a modest “survival” budget to set an ALICE threshold that will help us better understand the ALICE population in Florida. Nearly 1 in 3 households make up this population. They work hard, live above the Federal Poverty Level, and still cannot consistently afford the basics of housing, food, health care, child care and transportation. This report adds greater depth to our understanding of the people in our communities who live each day one crisis away from falling into poverty. We all depend on and meet ALICE everyday behind cash registers, fixing our cars, serving us in restaurants and stores, and caring for our young and our elderly, among many others. Despite working, often at more than one job, ALICE earns too little for a sustainable lifestyle. No matter how hard these individuals work, an ever-increasing number are not making it and their kids, your neighbors, and our communities will pay the price in the long run.

Economic conditions Challenges Strengths Juvenile justice detention facility closure Mental health facility closure Effects of Hurricane Charlie on housing Foreclosures Unemployment rate: 11.5% Graduation rate: 78% Seasonal employment: ~2,800 migrant/seasonal agriculture workers Strengths South Florida State College Walmart distribution center

Homeless Education Program 245 homeless students identified in 2016-2017 academic year High school - 65 Middle school - 57 Elementary school - 232 32 unaccompanied homeless youth 53 homeless migrant students

Arcadia Housing Authority Demographics Number of Families: 128 Number of Family Member: 373 48.4% white 51.56% Black 14.06% Hispanic

Arcadia Housing Authority Additional Services Salvation Army - to help with utility bills/job training SPARCC - victim counseling Senior Friendship - RX help for seniors non-denomination "Week of the Family“ CNA class

Arcadia Housing Authority New partnerships…. how it all began All Faiths Food Banks and Arcadia Housing Authority

Campaign Against Summer Hunger Started in 2014, serving 15,000 kids 2016 - 31,000 kids served 2017 - Goal of 34,000 kids Why is CASH so important? The summer months mean less money from seasonal jobs and extra work and greater expenses because children aren’t getting meals in school and possibly paying for chilod care. When budgets shrink and expenses grow, families are faced with awful decsiions of what to pay for and what to skip.

Services Offered Backpacks Meals Mobile pantries Sprout mobile farm market

Impact and Reach: BackPacks 2015: 60 kids reached, a total of 654 backpacks distributed 2016: 78 kids reached, a total of 624 backpacks distributed

Impact and Reach: Meals 2015: 50 children served, a total of 1,498 meals provided 2016: 45 children served, a total of 1,028 meals provided In collaboration with Sarasota County Food and Nutrition Services, food provided by USDA

Impact and Reach: Mobile Pantry 2014: 9,980 families served = 391,331 lbs of food 2015: 12,367 families served = 564,210 lbs of food 2016: 5,262 individuals served with 543,400 lbs of food

Impact and Reach: Sprout Mobile 2014: 2,553 families served = 39,527 lbs of fresh produce 2015: 4,371 families served = 62,484 lbs of fresh produce 2016: 560 individuals served = 73,793 lbs of fresh produce

2017 New Summer Initiative

How does all of this work?

Sarasota Housing Authority and AFFB Summer camp snacks Backpacks Literacy program - 3 events Two sprout mobile pantries

Tools & Resources Feeding America: Housing and food insecurity Sample: Food bank and housing authority agreement Case study: Capital Area Food Bank and City of Austin Housing Authority

Questions? Colleen Reinert, MPH Strategic Program Officer creinert@allfaithsfoodbank.org Becky-Sue Mercer Executive Director director@housingarcadia.com