Fight Domestic Hunger & Help Kids Have A Hunger-Free Summer #HungerFreeSummer

ConAgra Foods & Chris O’Donnell For Domestic Hunger-Free Summer, Partnered Post…

The looming threat of domestic hunger is a sad reality for many children nationwide. I didn’t realize the severity or scope of the problem, and that it’s especially dangerous for these kids during the summer, until I was contacted about the Hunger-Free Summer program.

In this program, ConAgra Foods has partnered with Chris O’Donnell to raise awareness and encourage everyone to lend a hand in fighting against child hunger. How? Just watch the video embedded below (or see it online at childhungerendshere.com/takingaction). For each view, ConAgra Foods will donate a meal to Feeding America. You must watch the video all the way through for the view to count but it is only 1 minute, 30 seconds long.

This program is now in its fourth year and has supported the delivery of more than 2.5 million meals and snacks to children struggling with hunger over the summer. The main goal is to reach at least 25% more kids in need during the summer over the span of five years. During the school year, 21.5 children rely on free or reduced-price meals but, when school is out, only 2.3 million take advantage of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The reasons for this include:

• Low Awareness –
  Families may not know about the programs that are available in their area
• Geographic Barriers –
  Children may not be able to get to summer meal programs because of a lack of transportation or because they live in rural areas
• Limited availability of summer meal programs –
  Whether a lack of awareness of the federal program, or a lack of resources to operate feeding programs (volunteers, feeding sites and partners), these seasonal programs aren’t available in certain communities

As a parent, you know how difficult things become when your kids get hungry. They can’t focus, have a hard time learning, don’t feel well, are lethargic, and may be be grumpy or acting difficult. Imagine how it is for those that don’t know when or if the will eat. This will impact if they got to school and their performance there, likely resulting on lower grades and test achievements. What a sad prospect lies ahead for such unfortunate children 🙁 No wonder Chris O’Donnell, father of five, agreed to be the program spokesperson!

Other ways to help include volunteering at a local food bank to help transport food, set up a feeding site, or do activities with the children or calling 1-866-3-HUNGRY to find out about nearby programs to help raise awareness of this important issue. The “Map the Meal Gap” provide shocking but sobering statistics!

While we can’t erase the problem of domestic hunger, just watching and sharing this video can help. Imagine, for less than two minutes of your time, another meal is provided for a child that could have great things ahead of them. If we all watch, share, and help maybe this will be a summer to enjoy and remember for kids across the country instead of a time to fear going hungry.

Online links: Website, Facebook, Twitter @ConAgraFoods

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.