This September collection sheds light on some of the less-talked about aspects of our community, like grandparents raising grandchildren and the “staggering” need to feed more kids than ever. We also look ahead to some big cultural events and share perspectives that continue to build a stronger community, through organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Women’s Center of Brevard and BAC. We also have some beautiful insights from thought leaders on finding calm, empowerment and protecting relationships. You’ll definitely feel inspired after hearing from some of our community’s creatives and leaders, and after reading this entire collection of stories!

The Children’s Hunger Project Relies on Community More Than Ever to Feed ‘Staggering’ Number

By Maria Sonnenberg

When retailers heralded the return of school with a barrage of ads for school supplies and clothing, a significant number of local families who struggle throughout the school year were focused on the most basic of necessities — food.

“Many households are unable to afford adequate nutrition for the children in their care,” said Cheryl Cominsky, executive director of The Children’s Hunger Project, the grassroots agency laser-focused on feeding Brevard County children at risk of going hungry.

The need is eye-opening: 70% of students in Brevard public elementary schools qualify for free or reduced meals because of their family’s limited household income. Across all school levels, 60% qualify.

“It’s a staggering statistic,” said Dr. Mark Rendell, superintendent of Brevard Public Schools. “A lot of our families depend on us for basic nutrition. We can’t provide it over the weekends. The Children’s Hunger Project fills in that gap.”

For many students, breakfasts and lunches provided by the public school system represent their primary food source. On weekends, when these meals are not available, the children are at risk of going hungry, if not for TCHP and its army of community volunteers, businesses, faith organizations and groups that fundraise and feed the growing need.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE WITH PHOTOS HERE

Need Has Surged

Launched in 2010, the nonprofit provided weekend food packs to 27 kids at Riviera Elementary School in Palm Bay. Thirteen years later, more than 4,300 students at 60 schools throughout the county were regular recipients of the food packs each week for the 2023-2024 school year, up from 3,900 the previous year. Cominsky said the number of at-risk kids is already increasing.

“Inflation and increased food costs are a very real problem for these families,” she said. “Nearly 40 percent of Brevard children live in single-parent homes. One in 10 students is being raised by a grandparent. (Read our story on the 30-year legacy of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren organization). Limited housing and a homeless population that includes children further intensifies the issue. We have seen many families having to double up with family and friends to make ends meet.”

And it’s not just public schools connecting TCHP food packs with kids. The organization also works with charter schools and civic organizations like Boys & Girls Club. And support extends further into the community through TCHP’s Adopt-a-School program, where churches and other groups do internal fundraising, purchase the food from TCHP and then deliver it to schools in their neighborhoods.

Food Fuels Learning

Proper nutrition grows young minds as critically as it provides the nourishment for strong bones. Focusing on a subject is hard when the stomach is empty.

“Nourishment is the key that unlocks a child’s potential to excel academically, physically and emotionally,” Cominsky said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “healthy eating in childhood…is important for proper growth and development and to prevent various health conditions. The CDC adds that proper nutrition improves cognitive function while reducing absenteeism.

“If you’re hungry, you can’t really concentrate on anything else,” Rendell said. “We take it for granted that we’re going to be able to have food whenever we want it, but not all our kids have that food security.”

Those on the front lines of education — the teachers and counselors — are aware of the difference in kids unable to eat well — if at all — on weekends.

“These are the students who desperately need assistance from The Children’s Hunger Project,” said a teacher at Sabal Elementary School, a Melbourne Title 1 school where 100 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunches.

“We have many students here living with family and friends to make ends meet. Sometimes, these families have multiple children. We have many families that don’t have parental support and students are living with relatives.”

Food packs are discreetly placed into backpacks at schools. TCHP staff doesn’t know the names of any recipients. Teachers and counselors recommend families to be included in TCHP program.

“It’s all done very discreetly,” Cominsky explained. “Teachers will put the essential weekend food packs we distribute to the schools in each child’s backpack while they’re at lunch, so the other kids won’t know. We ourselves don’t know the names of the students.”

The menu, developed with input from school nutritionists, features non-perishable items such as applesauce, nutritional shakes, breakfast bars, Chef Boyardee canned pasta and more to tide the students over the weekend.

It is clear to the educators that the children who benefit from TCHP food are better prepared to learn come Monday. When the organization surveyed school staff on student performance after receiving TCHP food packs, teachers reported an 80% improvement in student attendance, 90% improvement in student interest in daily activities and 92.5% improvement in student academic performance and ability to focus on schoolwork.

In addition to food, TCHP also includes information for the adults in the household — things like flyers on opportunities for continuing education, financial counseling and other grounding resources.

Partners & Volunteers

Thousands of volunteers come through The Children’s Hunger Project building each year to help assemble food packs.The supply chain, assembly lines and distribution network that keep TCHP operating are extensive. And it’s all based right here on the Space Coast. But the only way the organization, run by a small office staff of five, three who are part time, can serve so many children is through the community doing its own fundraising.

TCHP works with food distributors to obtain the best pricing for the items. The organization, which receives no government support, depends on individual, church and corporate donations, grants and proceeds from community events, such as Buckler Promotions’ Strawberry Festival and Blueberry Festival and the Battle Bros series of events.

Battle Bros has teamed with TCHP for five years, starting with one of their annual events, the Space Coast Wing Battle, and now with the Space Coast Holiday Food Fest and Craft Fair and Space Coast Burger Battle.

“Being fathers ourselves, my partner Jake Schmalenberger and I, love to support organizations that benefit children, and when we learned the impact that The Children’s Hunger Project has on the youth of our community, we knew they would be a fantastic organization to support,” said Battle Bros owner and co-founder Sean Beck.

“TCHP have become like family to us here at Battle Bros events, we have built such a meaningful and impactful relationship with them over the years and are excited to continue growing our Brevard County events with them annually.”

Comisky praised the loyal private donors who have supported TCHP’s mission from the beginning and said the number of people hosting outside fundraising efforts is too extensive to list. It’s overwhelming in the best way, and it’s the only way TCHP can continue to meet the growing need.

Volunteers share information and spread awareness at the The Children’s Hunger Project tent at various community events.

While it’s about fundraising, it’s also about spreading awareness of TCHP and its mission — which prompts more people to volunteer and give. Recent examples include:

• In July, two Thrifty stores in Brevard designed their own donation cards and offered shoppers the chance to add a donation to TCHP. The cards were hung across the store. The owners matched the $8,000 raised, to give TCHP what Cominsky called, “This beautiful check for $16,178.”
• The Ohio State Alumni Club of Space Coast, Florida raised $1,000.
• Rockledge Rotary Foundation raised $7,800 during its Derby Day.
• Indiafest gave TCHP a check for $25,000.

TCHP has volunteers present at some events, setting up a table or tent and providing education to the public, but the supporting organizations take the lead and do the work. When it comes time to “pack the packs,” a mighty engine of volunteers also roars into motion.

“All our food is packed and delivered by volunteers,” said Cominsky, who added that the community provided 11,000 volunteer hours to TCHP in 2023 alone.

Two years ago, TCHP moved into the new Shah Center to End Childhood Hunger in Cocoa. The facility, which provided badly needed elbow room for the rapidly growing nonprofit, was made possible through generous contributions from the Shah family of Southeast Petro. MH Williams Construction, CEG Electrical Engineering, Eleven 18 Architecture and Mitch Goldman of Cantwell & Goldman are among several businesses and individuals who devoted their time and effort to make the move a reality.

“The new building helps us to streamline the process tremendously,” Cominsky said.

For the 2024-2025 school year, TCHP worked toward a back-to-school goal of feeding an additional 100 children per week. While they don’t yet have an estimate for the additional need for this school year, the community partners and volunteers are the key to fulfilling the mission.

“No child should ever have to go to bed hungry or worry about where their next meal comes from,” Cominsky said. “God willing, with the continued support of the community, we will be able to continue to fill the need as it continues to grow.”

How You Can Help

• A gift of $16 a month, or $190 a year, will feed a child on weekends and school breaks for the school year.
• A gift of $84 a month, or $1,000 annually, will provide food for weekends and school breaks for five children.
• Any gift, regardless of amount, helps, as do donations of food or gifts made through TCHP’s Amazon Wishlist.
• Churches and service organizations are encouraged to organize a fundraiser for the agency. The process is made  easy with a toolkit TCHP provides for fund and awareness raising.

“You’re not just filling stomachs, you’re feeding futures,” Cominsky said.

“Thank God for all these different groups and exterior events that they are doing for us because that’s what we need to continue to meet the need and continue to grow.”

— EverythingBrevard Managing Editor Lee Nessel contributed to this report.