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Each Friday, Fairfield Central Office custodians volunteer their time to transport bags of food to the schools across the district. Teachers then slip those bags into select backpacks.

The simple action, unnoticed by most, makes all the difference in the lives of children who often do not have another meal until returning to school Monday morning, said Butler County Success Supervisor Suzanne Prescott.

"Our clients are the kids," she said.

By advocating for the children and their families through various agencies, Prescott said the children do not go hungry.

The agency also helps find them clothing and medical assistance.

Without those things, Prescott said it would be difficult for children to succeed in school.

"We overcome all the non-cognitive barriers," she said.

Nearly 15 percent of Fairfield students are enrolled in the government funded free and reduced lunch program.

More students would probably sign up if the process was easier for parents, said Fairfield East Assistant Principal Maureen Meyer. She said the application is long, and parents are sometimes embarrassed.

"Fairfield East is a middle class school, but we do have 12 percent poverty at our school," Meyer said.

The Butler County Success program community liaisons, advocates for children and their families, assist the schools in reaching out those students and their families.

"It's unbelievable how much I've relied on our community liaison," Meyer said.

Meyer said the community liaison works directly with families to help them sign up for free lunches and locate specific resources like clothing, medical attention or rent assistance.

Success program supervisor, Suzanne Prescott, said local aid organizations like Shared Harvest Foodbank make it possible to provide for students at school and off-site locations like apartment complex community rooms.

"Many of our low income families in Fairfield don't live by the schools," she said. "We go to people's houses."

And because of that, the liaisons know firsthand what families need and can relay that to churches and local organizations.

"It puts a level of trust there that people are helping people with what they know they need," Prescott said.

The need for anti-hunger programs in Ohio continues to grow as the state continues to lose well-paying jobs, particularly in manufacturing, said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks.

"We've got new people among those who need help with food, and this is the most basic of all human needs," Hamler-Fugitt said. "They've lost a job, and they find themselves having to make decisions between buying food and buying the medicine they need or between buying food and making mortgage payments."

The food bank association funnels resources to 12 regional food banks across the state that supply food to more than 3,300 charities. Hamler-Fugitt said the association has asked the State of Ohio to increase food bank funding from $7.5 million a year to $14 million in each of the next two years to cover increased demand.

Miami University Hamilton will host a forum on the issue of hunger Monday. The seminar "Exploring the Diversity of Hunger," sponsored by the Feed, Empower, Educate and Deliver Alliance, a partner of the Fairfield-based Shared Harvest Foodbank. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required by calling the foodbank at (800) 352-3663.

James Cummings contributed to this story.