Lowcountry Food Bank’s Kara Moore Named to No Kid Hungry’s Out of School Time Meals Champion Cohort

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CHARLESTON S.C. – Lowcountry Food Bank’s Director of Child Hunger Programs, Kara Moore, has been named to No Kid Hungry’s 2023 Out of School Time Meals Champion Cohort. Kara Moore is one of 12 professionals named to this cohort, who have been exemplary in their work to end hunger in their communities through the Summer and Afterschool Meals Programs.

Building on the work of a highly successful inaugural cohort, this group will work over the next year to raise awareness about the Summer and Afterschool Meals Programs, provide their support and expertise to new program sponsors, and work together to develop and share promising practices to providers across the country.

“Kids need proper nutrition to learn, thrive, and grow, both in school and out. These champions work tirelessly to ensure kids have access to three meals a day, every day. A huge part of this is getting them the food they need during times when school breakfasts and lunches aren’t available, like after school and over the summer,” says Paige Pokorney, Program Manager for the No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices. “We’re so excited to work with and learn from these champions over the next 12 months.”

Ensuring children have access to meals when they’re not in school has always been important; that’s been clearer than ever in the recent past. This cohort seeks to build on that momentum going forward and will continue to innovate in a changing landscape to ensure no child goes without three healthy meals a day 365 days a year.

“We have enjoyed a long and successful partnership with No Kid Hungry,” said Ms. Moore. “They have provided consistent funding to support our summer meal initiatives, helped jumpstart our “Summer Eats” program in Williamsburg County, and they provide the curriculum for the Cooking Matters classes we hold through their parent organization, Share Our Strength. I’m honored to have been selected to participate in the cohort as an additional extension of this relationship.”

The full 2023 No Kid Hungry Out of School Time Meals Champion Cohort includes:

· Michelle Poirier, Jurupa Unified School District, CA

· Alexandra Molina, McAllen ISD, TX

· Andrea Garcia Schoelzel, Office of Children’s Affairs, City and County of Denver, CO

· Mary Rose Vanas, Shelby Public Schools, MI

· Debra Davidson, Arkansas City Recreation Commission, KS

· Maggie Lynch, MetroWest YMCA, MA

· Annette Dove, TOPPS, AR

· Jamie Kocsondy, Missoula Food Bank & Community Center, MT

· Kara Moore, Lowcountry Foodbank, SC

· Michael Clark, Crane School District, AZ

· Tony Windsor, Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware, DE

· Wendi Huntley, Connecting Kids to Meals, OH

No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.

The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 40 million pounds of food in 2021. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to more than 250 partner agencies including on-site meal programs, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information, visit the Lowcountry Food Bank website.