The Childrens Hunger Project Legacy Grows With Cross-Town Move

One of the Space Coast’s outstanding charity success stories, The Children’s Hunger Project (TCHP) enters a new chapter with the move to a new building in the heart of Cocoa Village. Made possible with contributions by the Shah family of Southeast Petro, the Shah Center to End Childhood Hunger will provide a “forever home” for TCHP and its army of volunteers. 

As with everything related to TCHP, the building received plenty of support from the community. MH Williams Construction, CEG Electrical Engineering, ELEVEN18 Architecture and Mitch Goldman of Cantwell & Goldman are among several businesses and individuals who devoted their time and effort to make the cross-town move a reality.

“At the end of the day, the mission behind The Children’s Hunger Project is an easy one for us to support by building this nice new facility where they can touch a lot more lives,” said Mike Williams, Jr., of MH Williams. 

TCHP also received significant donations from Florida Blue, Space Coast Health Foundation and Bank of America. Grants from the latter two helped fund TCHP’s Doorway to Alleviate Childhood Hunger in Brevard, part of the buildout project to knock down existing walls and install a loading dock with overhead doors and hydraulic lift, which significantly streamlined loading and unloading. 

That community support is going to ensure the organization can continue to operate under a single, simple mission: feed a hungry child.

“Addressing food security in our communities is essential for good health,” said Tony Jenkins, Florida Blue Market President. “The health problems stemming from poor nutrition can be costly and devastating. More than $4.2 billion in health care costs are associated with food insecurity in Florida each year.

“Florida Blue is committed to working alongside community partners like The Children’s Hunger Project to mitigate these social issues that impair our community’s health.”

Feeding the children

Every week of the school year, volunteers deliver food to 47 local elementary schools, where teachers distribute the packs containing a dozen items to more than 2,900 students. More are expected for the 2022-2023 year.

The volunteers don’t know the children’s names or what they look like, but they do know they are feeding children who might otherwise not have much to eat during the weekend. The kids have been identified by teachers, guidance counselors or school administrators as at-risk of going hungry.

“Children have no filter, they tell their teachers what’s going on at home and how hungry they are,” said Cheryl Cominsky, executive director of TCHP. “For many of our students, breakfast and lunch at their school is their primary food source.”

In Brevard County, more than 50 percent of the children in public schools qualify for the free or reduced-price meal program, recognized by the government as a key indicator for hunger risk and poverty. At some local schools, more than 80 percent are eligible.

Hungry kids are sick more often and have lower academic achievement, because they struggle to pay attention and learn. If TCHP can feed the kids on weekends, they stand a fighting chance come Monday.

At Palm Bay Elementary, teacher Barbi Miller can vouch for the TCHP efforts. 

“On a weekly basis, over one hundred of our students receive a meal pack.” she said. “Students wait excitedly for their delivery friend to arrive with their meal pack. Our students bring home the mealpack knowing they have nutritious and delicious items to enjoy over the weekend. The benefits of The Children’s Hunger Project are immeasurable.”

The village makes it happen.

Like many good ideas, the seeds for TCHP were sown through serendipity. In 2010, co-founder Bob Barnes watched a television interview with Stan Curtis, founder of Blessings in a Backpack, which works through churches to reach out to 100,000 hungry children. It was a revelation. 

“I was not aware of how many kids were hungry in America,” Barnes said. “Had it not been for divine guidance, I would not have seen that show.”

Barnes tracked down Curtis, meeting him in West Palm Beach to pick his brain. Barnes recruited poker buddies David Cohen, Sam Jordan and Jean Yves-Clerc to kickstart the program. Cohen wrote a $15,000 check on the spot. TCHP was on its way, starting with providing food packs to 27 kids at Riviera Elementary in Palm Bay. 

Cheryl Cominsky, who arrived as a volunteer years ago, became executive director in 2020. 

“Cheryl is one of the most dedicated persons I’ve known in my life, and showed up every day, as if she was being paid,” Barnes said.

Cominsky later segued into a paid position coordinating volunteers. Her enthusiasm and belief in the cause is infectious.

“We are where we are because of Cheryl,” added Barnes. “She has been the key in shepherding The Children’s Hunger Project through the most challenging times.”

Indeed, Cominsky has been able to forge or strengthen bonds with groups that span churches, corporations, small businesses and other nonprofits. TCHP receives no government funding, so it is critical for the community to embrace it, and Brevard certainly works hard to ensure the program’s future with a plethora of fundraisers.

In past years, Jersey Mike’s Day of Giving channeled 100% of profits locally to TCHP, including taxes and tips. 

“The company gives us the amount of taxes collected and then pays the taxes themselves, and the servers voluntarily give their tips that day,” Barnes said. “It is extremely generous, to say the least.”

More than 70 local churches, and hundreds of parishioners in these congregations, help with time, talent and treasure.

“The church community has supported us every single month since we’ve been in existence,” Barnes said.

The organization met a skyrocketing demand during the pandemic head-on. They went from distributing 2,400 packages weekly to almost 6,000 packages every Friday.

“When the pandemic hit and the schools closed, Brevard Public Schools began providing meals to families that would drive up to pick up the food,” Cominsky explained. “Our volunteers stood alongside BPS cafeteria ladies/Food Nutrition Services on Fridays to distribute our weekend packages.”

Other than some funding during the early days of the pandemic, TCHP receives no government funding, so fundraisers are critical for survival. 

Fundraisers pop up everywhere to help pay for the $4.75 it costs to provide each package of food. Health First annually sponsors a major 5K. Rockledge Rotary hosts Space Coast Derby Day. Proceeds from Blueberry Fest, Strawberry Fest and Space Coast Wing and Burger Battles all benefit The Children’s Hunger Project. The United Way and Community Foundation for Brevard also help. 

Thousands of volunteers donate their time. Jamie Schmalenberger of Battle Bros is one of them. 

“Having worked in a school with students at risk of going hungry, I was able to see firsthand the need for The Children’s Hunger Project in our community, and, having children of our own, The Children’s Hunger Project mission to support local children is a cause that's near and dear to the Battle Bros family's hearts,” she said. 

“Children who are hungry do not have the capacity to be an effective student. They can't focus on learning how to read, write, add, or subtract when their thoughts are solely on survival. I have personally heard stories from students who rely on these meals from The Children’s Hunger Project and how these meal packs have changed their lives.”

For six years, the program operated rent-free, thanks to Bruce Nelson Jr., the Nelson family and Cocoa/Coastal Hyundai, which provided a building at no charge. 

For the Shah family and Southeast Petro, investing in TCHP was a given.

“We love our community that has given us so much,” said Summit Shah, president of Southeast Petro.

“We are honored to be able to give back and can’t think of a more deserving mission to promote than The Children’s Hunger Project’s. It’s hard to imagine kids going hungry in our community. We hope we can make a difference in solving this problem one day for all kids in Brevard.”

One mission

When questioned about the value of the program, Barnes and Cominsky fire back with sobering facts.

“One in 10 children are being taken care of by grandparents or even great-grandparents on limited incomes,” Cominsky said. “We have a lot of hard-working parents. A single mom may be working three jobs and paying half of what she makes in rent. They live paycheck-to-paycheck and it’s hard to get out of that cycle.”

On his first presentation about the program, an audience member asked why he should feed other people’s kids. Barnes replied that, ultimately, the important thing was that if you saw a hungry kid, you should feed the kid. 

“We are laser-focused on getting food to the children,” Cominsky said.

 

Connect

The Children’s Hunger Project

26 Forrest Ave., Cocoa

Childrenshungerproject.org

321-610-1900

Facebook: /thechildrenshungerproject

Instagram: @thechildrenshungerproject

Twitter: @CHILDHUNGER