Catherine McAuley Center receives grant from No Kid Hungry to decrease food insecurity in young children

CEDAR RAPIDS — Catherine McAuley Center has been awarded a $25,000 grant from No Kid Hungry for its Refugee & Immigrant Services to assist new and expecting immigrant mothers, and refugee and immigrant families with young children in obtaining food and health benefits.

No Kid Hungry, a campaign from the national nonprofit Share Our Strength, will invest $3 million in grants to organizations focused on early childhood to help decrease food insecurity among children under the age of six.

At one point during the past year, 40 percent of parents of kids under six reported job or income loss related to the coronavirus pandemic. More than one in five parents reported food insecurity in their household. Early childhood is the most intensive period of brain and body development, and hunger and hardship at this age can have long-term implications for children.

The No Kid Hungry grants will serve more than 120 early child care centers, health care providers and community organizations. These organizations work with an estimated 170,000 children under the age of five in 34 states and the District of Columbia, including the Catherine McAuley Center.

“Food insecurity in the early years can have an immediate and lasting impact on overall health, learning, school readiness, and behavior,” said Caron Gremont, Director of Early Childhood for the No Kid Hungry campaign. “These flexible, yearlong grants will help organizations provide healthy food to young kids and their families at this critical time.”

Funding from No Kid Hungry supports Catherine McAuley Center’s health care navigation, resource navigation, and case management services that connect kids, parents, and families with resources to find food security and support their basic needs.

“Through these programs, we’re able to regularly meet with clients, provide support, and help them navigate their new community — and stay healthy, safe, and fed,” said Sara Zejnic, Director of Refugee & Immigrant Services at the Catherine McAuley Center. “After this past year of disruptions in services due to the pandemic and the local derecho, this grant helps us maintain and grow these services, so that despite disruptions in work or school, families don’t experience disruptions in health care and food security.”

No Kid Hungry

No child should go hungry in America. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 6 kids could face hunger this year. 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.

Catherine McAuley Center

The Catherine McAuley Center is a nonprofit organization in Cedar Rapids that offers hope and opportunity through educational and supportive services that promote stability, skill-building, and connection. CMC serves refugees, immigrants and women recovering from trauma as they work toward self-sufficiency and greater participation in our community.