Hunger Free Summer

This post is brought to you by ConAgra Foods and The Motherhood, and I’ve been compensated for my time. However, all opinions are my own.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth! I have my whole family from Boston visiting, so there’s been lots of cousin snuggling and playing with Yiayia and even some Thomas the Train sharing. 😉 Being around family and surrounded by an abundance of food has reminded me not everyone has food on their table this summer. Did you know 1 out of 5 kids in the US may be suffering from childhood hunger? In fact, 21.5 million kids participate in free and reduced meals programs during the school year– but once summer hits, only 2.3 participate in the Summer Food Service Program.

That’s almost 20 million less children receiving regular meals during the summer. Here, in America. That’s a real problem.

I’ve had the privilege to teach in several schools in my career, and two of them had a population with 90% (or higher) receiving free or reduced meals. Our kids relied on this program for nutritious meals, sometimes for both breakfast and lunch. Skipping meals is no small thing– over time, it can lead to lost focus in school, increased illness, disruptive behavior, and lower scores on achievement tests. Once school is out, barriers such as geographic barriers and low awareness of summer programs mean few kids participate in summer feeding programs.

In other words, for the millions of kids who fall within that gap, summer does not mean a few months of fun and relaxation. It means they may be at risk of hunger.

Why am I telling you this? Because I’m helping ConAgra spread awareness about hunger among our children during summer months. ConAgra has committed to fighting childhood hunger, and for over 20 years they’ve provided funding to support organizations that provide nourishment to children in need. Thanks to this effort, 29 food banks in 20 states will use Hunger-Free Summer grants – ranging from $20,000 to $50,000 – to feed our children who suffer from the gap of school year programs.

How can you help? You can do more than you may think! First of all, check out celebrity spokesperson (and dad of five) Chris O’Donnell’s Taking Action video. All you have to do is watch (or share it), and a meal will be donated to a child in need. Click, watch, and a child eats. So easy!

If you know a child or family struggling with hunger, please let them know about Feeding America’s Food Banks. I’ll be thinking of ways my family can be more hands-on to help this problem and share them in a few weeks. Until then, be sure to watch and share the Taking Action video, it’s just about a minute long so it’s super quick to watch!

Let’s take action this summer to help end childhood hunger. Please watch the video, share it, and feed America’s children.

{If you watch the video, please let me know in the comments below so I can thank you!}

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Comments

Jessica @FoundtheMarbles says

July 5 at 1:08 pm

90% of higher?? Wow. And to think how many of those kids don’t have access to those free meals during the summer months…

Janeane Davis says

July 5 at 3:41 pm

It is wonderful that you shared this information so that your readers can read, share and then act.

Ashley says

July 6 at 8:37 pm

Hope you and yours had an amazing 4th!!

- Carrie says
  
  July 7 at 7:42 pm
  
  Right back ‘atcha, Ashley!