It is midnight here on the East Coast, so as our neck of the woods settles down to sleep, I have the distinct privilege of being among the first Kossacks to shout out a big HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all my fellow moms out there.
But the larger privilege for me is getting to participate in this very important effort. May we feed more hungry people on our watch this weekend.
Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Its mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.
Summer is especially hard for families with children who normally benefit from school breakfast and lunch programs. When school is out, these children go hungry. However through Feeding America, for $36, through the Magic of the Internet, you can feed a child for the whole summer!!
And as we leave Hardhat Democrat's very informative diary from Portland, Oregon, we get an excellent bird's eye view of all this great land has to offer as we criss cross the country and land on that other coast in central Connecticut!
I'm posting from a State of "Plenty" in a Country of "Even More", yet people go hungry in Connecticut every day. As, sadly, they do everywhere in this affluent country. From the organization End Hunger CT,
• In Connecticut, 8.8% (122,000) of households, many of them with children, are food insecure (based on latest USDA figures).
• 45,000 (3.2%) people in Connecticut suffer from very low food insecurity at some point during the year (based on latest USDA figures)
• One out of five children, 102,000 youngsters, under the age of twelve, are hungry, or at risk of hunger.
These hard statistics are confirmed by the Connecticut Food Bank:
# Even in a state as wealthy as Connecticut, there is a huge need for food assistance, especially in cities like Bridgeport and New Haven. Sometimes the difference between a family who uses a food program and one that doesn’t is the sudden loss of a job, an illness, or unexpected rise in health or utilities bills.
# A survey of food pantry and soup kitchen clients in Connecticut revealed that:
* 42% had to choose between paying for food or utilities
* 34% had to choose between food or paying rent
* 30% had to choose between food or medical care
What is more important, food, heat, electricity, medical care, housing? Don't you need them all to survive, to prosper, to grow?
Meanwhile schools (and their partners) do the best they can--to feed children as well as educate them. Again, End Hunger CT, shows the need in this report on what schools do (and what more they need to do) in terms of school BREAKFAST programs. Yes, now "Free Lunch" often has to include breakfast too. From the 2007 School Breakfast Report Card:
Why Breakfast At School?
The academic, nutritional, and behavioral benefits of school breakfast creates a win-win situation for all.
The information below presents just some of the evidence demonstrating the positive impacts of school breakfast on students, parents, and teachers.
EDUCATION Numerous studies prove that nutritional status has an impact on cognitive functions in school, thus enhancing students vigilance and quality of school work. Correspondingly, the amount of time between breakfast consumption and class further impacts the level of academic achievement. A study shows that children who eat breakfast at school perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home.2 Providing breakfast at school benefits those students with long commutes and ensures all students are adequately prepared for school.
...
PSYCHSOCIAL EFFECTS Hunger can be a huge distraction not only to a child, but for an entire class. Those who have not had breakfast find it difficult to concentrate and tend to cause classroom disruptions by
compromising the focus of other classmates. In End Hunger Connecticut!’s Teachers’ Perceptions of the School Breakfast Program Survey, 71% of the responding teachers noticed an improvement in students’ attentiveness/alertness after the implementation of a school breakfast program. School breakfast is a minor investment in guaranteeing all students and teachers the opportunity to make the most of each day.
And kids do not just need to be fed at breakfast and lunch. We find a great example of a program to feed kids in the evening from our neighboring state of Rhode Island. This program (Kid's Cafe) is just another example of Feeding America's reach into corner's of America.
It is absolutely remarkable how schools and their partners are stepping up. But they can't do it when school is not in session. What happens to these children during the Summer?
One in five children. Look around as you drive around your town this Summer, one in five children playing on the playground or watching tv in hot apartments, or sitting on stoops has an ache in their belly. On average. Of course in many areas of the Country, the percentage is much higher.
Its hard to concentrate on that Summer Reading program when you wonder where your next meal is coming from. Its excrutiatingly difficult to just be a child and have fun when your belly is empty and hunger pangs abound. And there is no greater ache for a parent then knowing you are unable to feed your children. What a relief it must be to send your child back to school in the Fall and know that at least they will be fed a decent lunch at school. Shouldn't summer be more carefree for both mom and child? It is heartbreaking to think about. In our community, I am personally fortunate to have friends to lean on when I run short. But not everyone has that safety net, particularly in these very hard times.
For mothers especially, feeding children is not just about factually ending hunger, feeding your child is intensely personal. It is literally the first thing you do for their child after they are born, instinctively, it is the first task you try to do for them in the morning. It is something you always think about in the evening (that way of connecting to your family). Food is comfort, food is nurture, food is security, and for better or worse, food is a way you show your love for a child. Food is the "staple" of many a childhood memory. We can and we must lift mother's up so that THEY may provide, so that each child may know that sense of security.
In this land of plenty, we should be able to do that.
You can help a mother feed her children tonight, you can give her a wonderful Mother's Day gift, a lift in her spirit as she knows her child is fed during the Summer months. All you have to do is click here for the Magic Summer Lunch Box.
Feeding America is a truly wonderful organization. A national organization that does its work locally (click here for Feeding America's local action). Direct action to end hunger. This Mother's Day and everyday, that's what its all about.
There are always many ways to help and the kids can join in too.
As I was "researching" for this diary, I came across a great page from the Connecticut Food Bank. It is part of their Hunger Learning Center and it is their page for kids. Local action and civic responsibility should begin young, don't ya think? Anyway, here are their suggestions for how to get the children involved in helping to end hunger. I particularly like the suggestion for children to take field trips to food banks.
Ways Kids Can Help
There are many ways you can help reduce hunger in your community:
* Plan a food drive with your school, neighborhood, place of worship or after-school group. Click here for tips on planning a food drive.
* Volunteer with your class or family at a local food assistance program.
* Ask friends and family to donate food or money instead of giving presents to you for a birthday or bar/bat mitzvah.
* Ask your teacher or parent about taking a field trip to Connecticut Food Bank. Have them contact us to arrange a date and time.
* Donate money that you and your classmates would otherwise spend on snacks to CFB or a local food assistance program.
* Write a poem or story about hunger and share it with your class and family.
* Make a poster to illustrate the problem of hunger and what can be done to help.
* Write a letter to your local newspaper and political leaders asking them to be more involved in fighting hunger.
* Observe National Hunger Awareness Day by donating money you would otherwise spend on a snack or working on a volunteer project to a hunger-relief organization. Visit www.hungerday.org for more information.
* Talk to your parents about donating money to hunger-relief charities.
* Try not to waste food at home or school. Don’t fill your plate with more than you can eat, just to throw it away later.
For more information about Hunger in America (and to help keep these diaries visible), please read and recommend the next diaries in this Mother's Day weekend series:
(these are still to come)
Sunday (10 am EST): rb137
Sunday (1 pm EST): Norbrook
Sunday (4 pm EST):srkp23
Sunday (7 pm EST): blue jersey mom
Sunday (10 pm EST): Timroff
(and these were Saturday's diaries)
Saturday (10 am EST): noweasels
Saturday (1 pm EST): TheFatLadySings
Saturday (4 pm EST):boatsie
Saturday (7 pm EST): Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse
Saturday (10 pm EST): Hardhat Democrat
Saturday (midnight overnight): jellybeardemmom (you are here:))