Child Hunger is Right Next Door!

I live in Los Angeles and typically the bigger the city the bigger the problems.  But no matter how big your city and no matter how small your town, there is no excuse for children going hungry!

Here are some startling statistics from the lafoodbank.org

• Over 400,000 children in Los Angeles County face hunger
• Nearly One Million Los Angeles County Residents Received Food Assistance from Food Pantries, Soup Kitchens and Shelters during 2009
• Nearly 51 percent of California’s public school children are enrolled in the free or reduced-price program.
• The number of Children recieveing food assistance has more than doubled from 185,000 in 2005 to 393,000 in 2009

The Los Angeles Food Bank’s mission is simple, “To Mobilize Resources to Fight Hunger in our Community” and their vision is clear “That no one goes hungry in Los Angeles”

Just one of the programs that Feed America and the LA Food Bank has implemented at 27 sites in Los Angeles County is the Kids Cafe  which was started in 1993  and now serves approximately 1,900 children each day!  Kids Cafe is the nation’s largest charitable meal service program exclusively for needy children.

•  The Kids Cafe program addresses the needs for both proper nutrition and quality day and after school care in low-income communities. At each Kids Cafe site, healthy meals and snacks are served to needy children in a safe, nurturing environment.
• There are currently over 120 food banks operating Kids Cafes sites throughout the country.  Kids Cafes are located in Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA’s/YWCA’s, churches, community centers, schools, and other sites where children gather after school and during non-school breaks.
• During the summer, many children struggle with hunger because federal school meal programs are not operating. To combat this problem, the Foodbank provides hot lunches to the students who qualify for reduced price or free lunches during the school year through the Kids Cafe Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

Another Program for kids that started in 2006 is the BackPack Program, which is the only program that serves hungry children over the weekend.  Each friday a backpack filled with six nutritious meals and  is sent home with the children enrolled in this program.   The foodbank specifically targets children whose health and growth are being affected by poor nutrition.  The Backpack Program now serves 825 students at seven schools and has reached a total of 39,600 BackPacks!

By supporting our local Food Banks we are supporting the future of our communities.  In these economic times the food banks are seeing a 41% increase of people walking through their doors and it is not just who you think it is!  Some of these childen could be living next door or playing on the playground with your kids.  With this higher demand there is a greater need for volunteers to sort, clean, prepare and assemble food packages.

*Without Volunteer’s the Food Bank would not be able to provide
food for thousands of people every week.

Here is What YOU can do to HELP!

HOST A NEIGHBORHOOD RALLY (like me)
and make a donation to your local foodbank.

1.  Donate Food or Products
2.  Donate Funds
3.  Vounteer your time and services
4  Advocate.  Inform others about Hunger in your area

Meet the Author | savvysassymoms

Andrea is a Mom who hasn't lost her style to motherhood. Andrea loves social media and works on a variety of social media campaigns with brands big and small. Connect with Savvy Sassy Moms on Instagram

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