THEN
My parents raised five children, of whom I was the oldest, on very little. Dad worked very hard and Mom sacrificed much for us, knowing that God would provide through their hard work and faith. We didn’t have many of the extras growing up, and we ate a whole lot of refried beans and tortillas, but we always had food. None of the five of us ever worried abut where our next meal would come from, because we knew that our Dad would never let us down.
NOW
Not a night goes by when Ray and I don’t have to coax and plead with our children to eat the food on their plates. Part of the reason they poke at their broccoli (even though they all really do like it), and pick at their chicken (even though it’s their favorite), is because they’ve raided the pantry too close to dinner. Many times do we find ourselves reminding each of them how very blessed they are to even have food to eat. Food that they enjoy eating.
A GLIMPSE
There are many children in America who struggle with hunger – nearly 1 in 4, in fact, worry about how they will find their next meal. Research indicates that even mild under-nutrition, experienced by young children during critical periods of growth, impacts the behavior of children, their school performance, their health, and their overall cognitive development.
TAKE ACTION
ConAgra Foods, in partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization, has launched the Child Hunger Ends Here (CHEH) Neighborhood Rally campaign. Through this effort, we can help feed kids at risk of hunger by coming together to host and attend events that support Feeding America.
Together, we can turn a bake sale, church rummage sale, food drive, or any other event, into a CHEH Neighborhood Rally, simply by donating a portion (or even all) of the proceeds from the event to Feeding America. They’ve even given us tips and ideas on how to host our very own neighborhood rallies, specifically for this cause.
MORE WAYS TO HELP
Helping to feed America’s children can be as easy as purchasing your favorite foods for your own family. Whenever you purchase one of seven participating ConAgra Foods brands ConAgra will donate one meal to Feeding America – up to 2.5 million meals this year! ConAgra makes it easy – Make sure you get your coupon to save $1.50 when you purchase four of these participating brands!
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Tweet the following and encourage others to spread the word ::
Fight child hunger alongside @youngmommy http://bit.ly/dsQYMN Pls RT & spread the word, so we can make a difference. #fightchildhunger
For every tweet, $1 will donated to Child Hunger Ends Here in the name of From Dates to Diapers.
I’m proud to be working with ConAgra Foods on the Child Hunger Ends Here program.
Of course, all thoughts, opinions and testimonials are my own.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
My parents also worked two, sometimes three, jobs to make ends meet (they both immigrated from Hungary, as teenagers) but, my twin brother and I never saw a day without food, like they did. So, fighting hunger is very near and dear to my heart. Thanks for the heads up, Christine.
There are so many ways to help… Sometimes it feels like I’m not doing enough, ya know?
I tweeted. http://twitter.com/Alli_n_Son/status/11047864678
Thank you, Alli!!
I’m so glad you are partnering with ConAgra on this campaign.
There is nothing worse than thinking of a child going hungry. Anyone’s child.
((hug))
.-= Lucretia´s last blog ..Another Top 10 Tips to Survive & Thrive at SXSWi =-.
I am so happy that you are promoting what people can do to end childhood hunger. If people are looking for other ideas, they can participate in the Great American Bake Sale, sponsored by Share our Strength. All proceeds from this nation wide event go towards feeding programs in local schools to feed hungry children, particularly during the summer months, when they do not have access to school meals. I teach cooking classes to kids and always teach them to help the less fortunate – and this is something fun and simple every family can do!
.-= Michelle (What’s Cooking)´s last blog ..Cooking with Toddlers: “C” is for Cucumber =-.
I share your link with my facebook friends…Hope for the best.
I have three Twitter accounts so I tweeted three times:
http://twitter.com/Table4Five/status/11318942574
http://twitter.com/MomReviews/status/11319020148
http://twitter.com/mom_cooks/status/11319057832
It is shocking and devastating how bad the problem of childhood hunger is in this country. The lunchlady at the school my boys went to a few years ago told me that she knew there were kids in the school who did not have food at home, the free breakfast and lunch they got at school were their only meals. How is that even possible in this country?? And why do we spend so much money sending food overseas while our own citizens are starving? It boggles my mind. I wish I could do even more to help.
Hi all:
I came across your blog today while researching childhood hunger nd wanted to share a post from my own blog on the topic.
My blog, The Lunch Tray.com, deals with kids and food, in school and out, with a focus on improving school lunch in the public schools. A reader’s recent comment prompted me to write about childhood hunger, an issue which often gets lost in the shuffle with so much attention currently focused on childhood obesity. At any rate, I applaud your efforts here and wanted to share with you:
http://www.thelunchtray.com/?p=722
Regards,
Bettina Siegel
Child Hunger is a serious issue that I am glad you and others are addressing,
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