Elizabeth Taylor, a Remittance Processing Lead Analyst at NYSEG, believes no child should ever have to go hungry. Elizabeth nominated Child Hunger Outreach Partners for an AVANgives grant to honor friend and founder Dani Ruhf’s tireless commitment to erasing food insecurity from our schools and communities.

Child Hunger Outreach Partners, or CHOP, works to create an entire generation that does know hunger. Through its backpack program, in-school pantries, summer feeding program and more, CHOP ensures students have access to easy to prepare, nutritious foods and fresh produce both during and after the school day.

Spurred by a call to action from her daughter, Dani started CHOP in 2019, first serving 45 kids in one county in Northeast Pennsylvania. Because hunger knows no borders, CHOP has rapidly grown to serve around 10,000 students a week across 6 states – Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The AVANgives grant will help Dani add the Southern Tier of New York to this list.

In each state, CHOP is led exclusively by women that Dani has met along the way in her professional and personal life, with the support of volunteers of every age, skillset, background and gender.

And with the COVID-19 pandemic intensifying hunger in all corners of the community, CHOP has stepped up to the plate to provide help to those in need, no questions asked. By combating hunger across the U.S., CHOP envisions a more sustainable future for all – paying it forward today to create healthier, vibrant communities tomorrow.