Money for food, outreach workers coming for kids in Government Square

CINCINNATI — Wheeling a cart with 80 bags of lunches into a freezer, Eric Brand smiled as he latched the door open.

“It’s just as rewarding to hear about it as it is to see it,” he said.

The chef at City Gospel Mission had just finished preparing bags with a sandwich, chips and an apple for students. It’ll be given out at no cost to kids in Government Square, where many Cincinnati Public School students transfer buses after school.

“I’m hoping it does some good for the kids down there as they transition between school and home,” Brand said.

Community advocates said it is doing a lot of good, and they'd like to be able to offer more food.

Cincinnati City Council agreed. On Wednesday, members approved $50,000 toward safety initiatives at the transit hub. Money will be used from the contingency operating fund and be put toward “food and other resources as needed for youth,” according to the motion.

The city manager’s office will determine which organizations get the funding for the food. City Gospel Mission's food initiative has been unrelated to the city.

Council member Anna Albi said the idea to provide food came from the volunteer advocates who have been showing up to support students at Government Square for the past nine months.

“We want these kids to be safe and healthy, so how can the city help do that? And this is just one piece of that solution,” Albi said.

A final solution is getting kids to a safe “third space,” she said: “Especially once the weather gets cold, I’m guessing that in the middle of a snowstorm, a transit center is not where kids want to hang out.”

In the meantime, funding for food — along with community outreach workers — is designed to be a bridge for students.

Albi said she viewed food as an avenue for safety after hearing from a researcher at Tulane University who found a strong correlation between food insecurity and increased rates of violence. That correlation can manifest itself in two ways: disinvestments in neighborhoods where food insecurity is increased and the physiological impact of hunger.

“Hunger can have a real impact on us,” Albi said. “So what we're looking to do for the kids down in Government Square is help them have a little bit of nutritional boost to get them through the end of the day and hopefully provide them a little bit of nutrition.”

At a meeting last week about gun violence prevention, Albi said community advocates highlighted the need to feed the children: “[An advocate’s] quote to me was, ‘These kids are going home to trash bags and ramen noodles.’”

Albi said she will be monitoring distribution levels and relationship-building as metrics for success.

Community activist Iris Roley has been supporting kids in Government Square for months. She said the food that has come from City Gospel Mission has made a real difference.

Still, Roley said broader issues are at play.

“The children should not be hungry. They shouldn't be leaving school in this dire strait,” said Roley. “They shouldn't have to traverse the landscape of the city from home to school so that they need food, and food shouldn't be so hard to get.”