Food Banks help Child Hunger
A few weeks ago I received a newsletter from a friend who shared a touching story. It was about how her family had to, at times, go hungry and visit food banks just to make it day to day. Some of you who read this blog may have also gotten it, this mutual friend, is Alaina Frederick of Dinker and Giggles. I have only known Alaina a few months but she is a super sweet person with a good heart. This broke mine thinking about the hard times they went through and sorry I didn’ t know her then to lend a helping hand.
She sent me an email today stating if I was needing something to write about how about not write about this subject. I thought that was a brilliant idea and here I am typing it out. How does this relate to my blog? Well when I was younger my family and I would volunteer at the church in my hometown to raise food for our local food bank. Whenever I would ask or say “why do we have to do this” my parents would look at me and make me think about what it would be like if I didn’t have a bite to eat in 24 hours or in some cases days. Of course as a young child you really don’t get the full concept of it but it wasn’t a nice thought. As a mother I certainly do now. There is no way I would let my kid go without and if I had to starve for a week, that is what I would do for him to eat, much like Alaina had to do. By doing this with my parents, it made me not only appreciate what I have more, but it was great family bonding time. I would not have traded it for anything. They are fond memories.
1 in 4 children go hungry. Hunger is a reality in America, one that children face everyday. Food is their chance for a better tomorrow and a strong foundation for the future.
- Children who are hungry may not perform well academically – they are likely to have impaired cognitive functioning and diminished capacity to learn, and achieve lower test scores and overall school performance.
- Research indicates that even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth impacts the behavior of children, their school performance, and their overall cognitive development.
- Children who are hungry may develop physical problems, such as slower growth and inhibited brain development; and illnesses including stomach aches, headaches, colds, ear infections, and fatigue.
- Through a network of more than 200 food banks nationwide, Feeding America provides food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children.
Now as an adult I do what I can to help out. Each year for the hunger drive in my town, me and my Mom, go on a shopping spree and together we buy at least $50 worth of food to donate. Of course now I don’t ask why we are doing this but rather, thank you for doing this with me. Also, for the last serveral years, at Christmas time we have taken names of ftrees to give gifts to, adopted a family and given them a full Christmas dinner, and have donated to local shelters. I look forward to the bonding time with my Mom because it’s something just us do together and it given me a chance to say Thanks for all you have given me and taught me about giving.
Our children are this countries future and it’s up to us adults to help in anyway we can to shape that future. I know it takes time and money to volunteer but why not give up 1 hour of shopping to help out at your local food bank? 1 hour isn’t that much time but it is very much needed. Here are some way to help from Child Hunger Ends Here:
- Neighborhood Rally-Rally your neighbors and make a difference for kids struggling with hunger. We can help make it easy with great ideas and tips about how to organize a neighborhood event to raise funds you can donate to Feeding America. Register today and you’ll receive a FREE toolkit to help make your neighborhood rally a success.
- Donate to Feeding America-Make a donation or donate the proceeds from your neighborhood rally to Feeding America. All donations stay in your community, helping hungry kids where you live.
- Clothes off Your Back-Bid on celebrity auction items like this dress from Dana Delany. All proceeds go to Feeding America to help end child hunger now.
Whatever you do is appreciated. Get your family and kids involved. It’s healthy to teach them the gift of giving and it makes for excellent family bonding and something you can carry with you through the years.
For more about Alaina’s story check out her blog Dinker and Giggles
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So happy to see others helping with this project! I love, love, love ConAgra for doing this for our nation’s children. I joined the House Party campaign and decided to have our church host a food drive all month, ending with a benefit concert on the 30th (non-perishables as admission). It’s brought so much awareness to our community about this horrible problem. God bless you for featuring it here!