There have been plenty of times in my life as a mother when I have wondered where money for milk or bread was going to come from. But somehow, thankfully, something has always fallen into place and I’ve had food to feed my kids. We’ve had challenges, but we’ve also been greatly blessed.
Not every child is as fortunate as mine. On Thursday, I met with a group of local bloggers for a tour of the Captial Area Food Bank, as part of the ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here Campaign. From the Child Hunger Ends Here website:
Hunger is a reality in America, one that more children face every day. Food is their chance for a better tomorrow and a strong foundation for the future.
* Research indicates that even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth impacts their behavior, school performance, and cognitive development.
20.5 million children depend on free or reduced price school meals.
* Children who are hungry may not perform well academically.
* Children who are hungry may experience slower growth and inhibited brain development.
* Children who are hungry may suffer from more stomach aches, headaches, colds, ear infections, and fatigue.
* During the school year, about 20.5 million children depend on free or reduced-price school meals to help keep them from going hungry.
The tour of the Capital Area Food Bank was incredibly interesting. Seeing where our donations go as well as how the food is sorted and distributed was fascinating. The need is great. In fact, the Capital Area Food Bank distributed 27 million pounds of food last year. Their mission is not only to provide food, but also to educate, empower, and enlighten the community on issues of hunger and nutrition. More than 14,000 volunteers in the community ensure that the program not only runs smoothly, but that the majority of the Food Bank’s funds go toward food and not staffing costs.
There are several ways that everyone can help end childhood hunger, no matter where you live:
- Go grocery shopping – Through May 2011, anytime you purchase a specially marked ConAgra food item (brands such as Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice, Kid Cuisine, and Marie Calendar’s), you can enter an 8-digit code on childhungerendshere.com and the company will donate one meal to Feeding America.
- Text to donate – Text “FEEDKIDS” to 50555 to make a $10 donation directly to Feeding America through June 30, 2011.
- Get social – spread the word and learn more on twitter. Follow ConAgraFoods and hashtag #childhungerendshere. You can also see inspiring stories of those who have benefited from your generosity on The ConAgraFoods Facebook page. Every time you share a story on your FB page through August 31, 3011, ConAgra will help Feeding America secure an additional meal.
Interesting tidbit: Did you know the difference between a food bank, a food pantry, and a soup kitchen? Answer: a food bank solicits, collects, stores, and distributes large quantities of food to nonprofit programs. A food pantry provides food directly to those in need. A soup kitchen prepares hot, nutritious meals for those in need.
Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way to participate in this tour or to write this post. I paid my own way to travel to this event, and I chose to share this information because I believe it’s truly valuable.
© 2011, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
My daughter is telling me that her friend at school is always hungry, that she doesn’t have enough to eat at lunchtime. She has a granola bar, trail mix and marshmallows every day for lunch; nothing to drink. I am extremely concerned about this. The child is not allowed to purchase milk to go with her lunch and is not packed water either. My daughter says sometimes she passes some food to her under the table (they are not allowed to “share” food at lunch) and the child eats that at lunch. This child also does not have snaks packed in her book bag for afternoon snak either (they are 1st graders). I am very concerned. My husband says I should stay out of it. I know this mom. She’s the leader of the girl scout troop. I’m having a hard time with this…but don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?
Hunger is a universal curse and a serious blot on our society.Where some people are leading luxurious life and have plenty of food to eat some sleep empty stomach at nights and the main victims of hunger are small children. The steps taken up by capital area food banks and childhungerendshere.com is really very impressive and I would love to contribute something for these small children……….