Stay Well Project- Year Two!

What a memorable day! After an extremely successful pilot year, this past week, the Hunger Network launched the second year of the Stay Well Project!

The Stay Well Project is a program created by the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland with the mission to educate food insecure clients about important issues that affect their daily lives. Through a partnership with University Hospitals and Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, we host informational events and health screenings. Topics range from diabetes, to hypertension - and we even gave away flu shots in October! The pilot year of the Stay Well Project focused on 4 hunger centers; but in year two, we are excited to announce that we are expanding! Stay Well will now be available at 8 of our hunger centers and hope for even more in the future.

In addition to growing number of hunger centers participating, the Stay Well is expanding in other ways! For our second year, we are pleased to announce our new partnership with Remington College. Remington's nursing assistant students will be present at all Stay Well events, providing blood sugar screenings for our clients. It is an important addition to the program, supporting our effort to assure clients are aware of their glucose levels in order to prevent and/or manage diabetes.

We kicked-off the second year of this awesome program with a "Back-to-School Kid's Health" event on Wednesday, August 7th at our Faith Baptist Hot Meal Program. The event started at 10:30 AM and hosted over 80 adults and children learning about the importance of proper nutrition and how to avoid communicable diseases. With school doors reopening from summer break, it is such a significant and timely topic. Studies show that children who do not receive enough to eat have lower energy in school and lack memory & ability to concentrate.

Three additional events have been held, hosting hundreds of clients and offering the opportunity to go through health screenings testing their blood pressure, blood glucose, BMI and HIV. There were opportunities for private health consultations at the health fair and prizes for all who participated.

Additional August Stay Well Project Dates: 

Harvard Community Services Center, 18240 Harvard Ave:

Tuesday, August 20th, 10:30- 11:30 AM, Volunteer Check-In at 10 AM 

Garden Valley Neighborhood House, 7100 Kinsman Road: 

Thursday, August 22nd, 10 AM-12 PM, Volunteer Check-In at 9:45 AM

True Vine Baptist Church, 954 Linn Dr: 

Tuesday, August 27th, 5-6 PM, Volunteer Check-In at 4:30 PM

Cory Methodist Church- Concert Hall, 1115 E 105th St:

Thursday, August 29th, 5:30- 6:30 PM, Volunteer Check-In at 5 PM 

For more information and September dates, be sure to check out our website at HungerNetwork.org.

Some additional Stay Well Project topics for the second year include: diet and wellness, cancer, pain management, ins-and-out of taking meds, respiratory issues, and hearing & vision.

If you're interested in supporting the Stay Well Project in any way, we would love to have you! Contact our Stay Well Coordinator, Sara at scontinenza@hungernetwork.org.

No Summer Vacation for Hunger

Time away from school during summer months brings an end to school-funded meal programs. These programs provide children with healthy, filling meals that they have come to rely.  Children experience hunger over summer months because their families lack the ability and resources to make up the deficit from missing these school-provided breakfasts and lunches. The Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland is working to fill this void and we need your help to feed these hungry children.

Nelly lives at home with her grandma and attends school in Cleveland. During the school year, she is provided breakfast and lunch, but in the summer her grandma must somehow supply these extra meals for her. Nelly’s grandmother has been coming to the Hunger Network on-and-off since 2006, ever since a heart-attack left her disabled and unable to work. The Network food pantry gives her nutritious emergency food to help keep them from being hungry.

Throughout the summer, Nelly volunteers at the Redeemer Crisis Center which is part of the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland. Nelly chooses to spend her time at Redeemer to stay safe and off of the streets; she doesn't want to be negatively influenced by her peers.  Her grandmother is so thankful that Nelly volunteers at the center because she thinks it helps her stay focused and teaches her how to work with different kinds of people. Nelly has big goals for her future; she dreams of one day being a forensic scientist.

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