Welcome to our newer series on the Florida Impact to End Hunger blog where we highlight our wonderful group of board members and team with a brief interview. This time around, we look to longtime board member Lisa Early who is also the Director of the Families, Parks and Recreation Department for City of Orlando.

How long have you lived in Florida and what has kept you in the Sunshine State?

I moved to Florida in 1990… that makes it 30 years. What’s kept me here? I thought about moving a few years ago, because I’m a big city girl and felt like this place was too “small town.” But a couple of my family members didn’t want to leave. I felt it was the right thing to do to let their preference rule.

What do/did you do for a living and what life experiences do you think lead you to your field?

My resume is 40 years long, and includes work overseas with Save the Children, UNICEF, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Then, after returning to the United States, I worked for Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and, since 2003, the City of Orlando, as the City’s Families, Parks and Recreation Director.

This is the start of a new series on the Florida Impact to End Hunger blog where we highlight our wonderful group of board members and team with a brief interview.

First up, our Board President Rev. Dr. Sharon Austin, Director of Connectional & Justice Ministries Florida United Methodist Church.

How long have you lived in Florida and what has kept you in the Sunshine State?

I am a non-native Floridian born to native Floridians. I was born and spent my childhood in New York. My parents returned to their native state and I lived in Florida until I left to attend college and seminary. I returned to Florida year later with my husband and children, when my husband received an employment opportunity. We have lived here since the mid-nineties. A few years later, I transferred my clergy orders through the Florida Conference to The United Methodist Church. I rejoice that I have some family, many friends and colleagues in Florida.

What do/did you do for a living and what life experiences do you think lead you to your field?

I received my call to ministry during my undergraduate years and this year marks my fortieth year in ministry. The years have flown by and have been filled with ministry opportunities in different denominations, states and settings. I have always loved God and had faith in Jesus Christ. My father was a pastor, and I am at least a fourth generation clergyperson. I understand the Holy Scriptures and the message of most religions to contain strong admonition against injustice. Since childhood, I have been asked to assume public speaking roles, and I have significant creativity and curiosity genes. I enjoy fact-finding and analysis. My parents persevered in times that were very restrictive for them as African-Americans, and they raised their children to persist and use their voices and take action in the face of injustice. I was a Baptist pastor initially, and served on the staff of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. I believe personality, gifts, experiences and potential are all used by God in addition to faith, in a person’s call to ministry.

When and why did you join the Florida Impact to End Hunger (FITEH) board?

I joined the board in 2016 in relation to my leadership role in The FL Conference. I followed longtime colleague, the Reverend Clarke Campbell-Evans as he concluded his board membership, following our Conference reorganization. The changes included my role on the FITEH board and transition of the annual Florida Advocacy Days event to my area of leadership.

What has been a highlight while being on the board so far?

I don’t know that there is a single highlight during my board tenure, rather I am encouraged about the times and ways that the mission of Florida Impact to End Hunger connects with the mission of The Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church and our partnership with the 11th District of The African Methodist Episcopal Church. Together we seek to serve our communities by providing nutrition to children and other at risk populations throughout our state. This reflects good news every time we can make it happen!

Any fun facts about yourself or hobbies you enjoy?

I am interested in or love to do many things such as cooking, (especially for family gatherings) reading/writing and gardening are among them. International travel and learning about other cultures has been a privilege. A fun fact about me that likely would not occur to folks, especially given my profession is that I love to dance!

At the beginning of March, I traveled with our Chief Operating Officer Katie Williams to Washington D.C. for the annual National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference hosted by Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Feeding America. This event was the highlight of my year so far, despite spending a significant amount of time struggling to adapt to the cold… and then being repeatedly told that it was not, in fact, “cold”.

Having attended the same conference last year, I was excited to reconnect with some of our friends and colleagues from organizations across the nation, whilst learning about their new ideas and innovations in nutrition and sharing our own experiences from here in South Florida.

Thanks to a scheduling mishap, Katie and I were able to take our conference experience to the next level by being asked to present on a panel about our work with the Summer BreakSpot Program. This was an exciting opportunity, especially due to the few hours’ notice we had to prepare!

The National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference is a great opportunity for newer advocates to learn from more experienced members of the anti-hunger community, and to network with those who have been fighting against hunger and economic injustice for many years.

At the same time, the conference allows these new advocates to have a voice and bring fresh ideas for combatting food insecurity as society continues to change and evolve.

Additionally, the conference gives us an opportunity to bring our stories and ideas straight to our elected officials on Capitol Hill. However, perhaps the only disappointing aspect of this year’s conference was the legislative priorities we were discussing with our representatives.

While a considerable amount of effort has been made over the past year to protect existing nutrition programs, there has been little progress by the government in advancing Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR). This lack of movement continues to be reflected in our federal nutrition programs falling behind the needs of our communities today.

CNR presents a great opportunity to strengthen program access and support participation by children in need. Protecting community eligibility, incorporating alternative delivery models, improving area eligibility, maintaining strict nutrition standards, and strengthening SNAP and WIC are just some of the ideas that we hope Congress will stand behind and support to eliminate hunger in our most at-risk communities.

Overall, I left this year’s conference inspired and re-energized. I have brought back new ideas, new partners, and new experiences all to advance our efforts against food insecurity throughout our local community and across the state.

Sam Hopwood

Regional Director of South Florida

Florida Impact to End Hunger

Hunger doesn’t just harm the physical health of children; it affects nearly every aspect of their lives, from self-worth to academic performance to socialization.

According to the American Psychological Association, hunger is associated with anxiety and depression in children. In adolescents, hunger is associated with depressive disorders and suicidal tendencies.

The distraction of hunger also makes schoolwork more difficult. Research has shown that hungry children have lower math scores and are more likely to repeat a grade. And being hungry while others are fed can make children feel ashamed, isolated, and inferior. Hungry children have been found to have low levels of self-efficacy, which means that they don’t believe they can achieve their goals.

Hunger doesn’t need to happen.

While temporary assistance is important, long-term legislative change will be needed to solve this problem. Sure, to the average person, the services a policy nonprofit provides is a little less tangible than what a direct-service nonprofit provides, so it needs some extra explaining. (We can’t really point to facilities or backpacks full of donated food.)

What we can point to is the kid sitting in first period, well-fed and able to focus because they could participate in the School Breakfast Program which we’ve worked to expand and curated a website to compile research and data, and provide guidance for participation.

We can point to one out of the millions of nutritious meals served to Florida’s children at their local Summer BreakSpot site during a hot summer. In fact, we can point to the Summer BreakSpot campaign, an aggressive branding of the Summer Food Service Program with the (achieved, exceeded) goal of reaching more children throughout the state. Before this branding and networking was picked up by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (yay!) we even ran a direct hotline which connected hungry kids to Summer BreakSpot sites near them. (Nowadays you can just text “FoodFL” to 877-877 to find your nearest site, by the way.)

We can point to the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in December 2010 when suppers were authorized nationwide as part of the Afterschool Meals Program. This was a result of relentless advocacy from Florida Impact to End Hunger and incredible community advocates and local leaders, working with our elected members of Congress.

We can point to a project currently in the works which will bring healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables to Florida’s food deserts…more on that soon…

And so much more.

At Florida Impact to End Hunger, we’re working to help pass laws that guarantee families and their children are provided consistent meals by law — and we won’t stop until every child is fed.

Raffaela Susi

Graphic Design (and former Summer BreakSpot Hotline Operator ?)

Florida Impact to End Hunger

Studies show pets bring a level of joy and companionship to seniors who live alone. What does this have to do with hunger-related issues the elderly face? Taking care of a pet includes feeding, grooming and veterinary care, which can be financially burdensome and physically challenging to seniors. More often than not, a devoted animal lover with limited access to food will feed their hungry pet before they feed themselves.

One of Florida Impact to End Hunger’s community partners, Meals on Wheels of South Florida, has been providing nutritious meals to seniors for 35 years. Executive Director Mark Adler explains, “The need for this type of program became apparent when our volunteers who deliver meals observed that their elderly clients were going without their full meals because they were sharing their meals with their pets.”

Acknowledging that they were on a fixed budget and many were homebound and physically unable to buy pet food, Meals on Wheels secured funding to purchase pet food from local donors and grants. Hence the beginning of the Meals for Companion Pets Program.

Once a month, free pet food is delivered to clients with a maximum of 2 pets. This is especially important to homebound seniors who have no one to shop for their pet needs. This program can keep seniors and their pets together and healthy in their own homes. Sometimes a furry friend is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Please contact Meals On Wheels South Florida at 954-731-8770 for additional information on this amazing program or visit https://www.mowsoflo.org/meals-for-companion-pets.

Post written by Sue McAllister, Regional Director of Southeast Florida, Florida Impact to End Hunger