Fighting Child Hunger 1 Meal at a Time #FightHungerTogether

Disclosure:  This post is part of a campaign with The Motherhood, who compensated me for my time.

Did you know that 16 million children face hunger in America?  That comes out to be one in five children. To me this is awful. Kids should be allowed to be kids, not have to worry where their next meal is coming from. Sometimes I think too often there are advertisements on television for other countries where kids are poor and hungry, which don’t get me wrong is awful as well, but I think the kids here get lost in the shuffle. I think too that people get overwhelmed with how to help kids in other countries so they don’t help, but helping kids in their own communities can be so easy.

For me, I like to donate to our local food pantry. Just the other night I ran to our local grocery store with my 6 year old. He asked why I was buying so many canned goods and I explained that I was going to donate them. Now my kids understand about donating but they automatically assume it means clothes and toys, food is something they take for granted and for them its a given that it will be there. I tried explaining to my kids how there are many kids who don’t have all the snacks and treats readily available and some don’t even have enough food for a meal.

My 6 year old was shocked that there are kids who are hungry. He said “not in my school” and I replied that yes there are probably kids at his school who don’t have kitchens filled with groceries. I explained how for some kids, hot lunches at school may be their only meal. My son who snacks all day long starred at me in disbelief, but I think it is slowly sinking in.

So while we were shopping I pointed out products from ConAgra Foods that feature the Child Hunger logo.  I explained how by buying those products and then putting in an eight digit code online, a meal will be delivered from Feeding America.  Then I headed over to our local food pantry, People’s Resource Center, and dropped off four big shopping bags of food. I always like to donate canned goods or condiments, as they usually have a long expiration date.

Here are the participating brands:

For more than 20 years now, ConAgra Foods and the ConAgra Foods Foundation are committed to fighting child hunger in America by donating foods and investing in partnerships to find solutions that re within reach.

ConAgra has also launched the Make Your Mark on Hunger Campaign which challenges kids and teens to take action to fight hunger in the US through meaningful hands-on service in their communities.  To date, more than 17,000 youth have volunteered their time to fight child hunger. During the month of April, youth and teens from across the United States complete various activities such as cooking home cooked meals for the hungry or packing snack packs for after school programs. The grant winners received $500 grants from the ConAgra Foods Foundation as part of the generationOn’s “Make Your Mark” on Hunger campaign. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.generationon.org/hunger.

Discover more about ConAgra Foods’ approach to fighting child hunger.

Solving hunger is not something that can be achieved from one person or even one company. ConAgra has also partnered with Soul Pancake to hear what kids through about the issue and ways we all might help. With kids being our future it is always nice to hear their reactions and ideas.