Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. In case you’re not familiar with Feeding America, together with their 200 food banks across the United States, each year they serve 37 million Americans who are facing hunger. Nearly 49 million Americans, including more than 16 million children, are food insecure, meaning they live at risk of hunger.
How does hunger affect you? In Pennsylvania {where I live}, there are ten member food banks. 20.9% of children {or 588,370 children} below the age of 18 live in a food insecure home. Here is how hunger affects you and your state. This maps looks at overall and child food insecurity for every county in the United States. {Click on the map to see your state’s information.}
To help to feed the nation’s hungry children, Feeding America started the BackPack Program. The program provides children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available. In addition to providing nutritious food to school children in need, some BackPack programs provide extra food for younger siblings at home. Some programs even operate during the summer months. All Feeding America BackPack programs are operated through their member food banks. Each food bank may adapt their program to best meet the needs of their individual communities, while still upholding certain outlined standards and guidelines.
Wondering what is in a BackPack?
- Cereal
- Breakfast bars
- Milk
- Pudding
- Beef Stew
- Chili
- Sunflower seeds
- Apple, grape, or orange juice
- Diced apple fruit cups
- Applesauce
- Mixed fruit cups
- Sliced pears
So how can you help your local food bank?
- Donate money at FeedingAmerica.org
- Donate and volunteer at your local food bank. You can find your local food bank using this handy tool: http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx
- Start a food drive in your community and donate to your local food bank
If you are in the Philadelphia area and would like to donate, I am personally taking donations to be dropped off at the Camp Out for Hunger during the week of November 28th. Proceeds benefit Philabundance. E-mail me {agrandelife at gmail dot com} for more details.
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Thanks for the information! We love to support local causes and there is a definite need here in Pennsylvania. It’s great that you’re working for this great organization!
It is really important to get the word out especially this time of year when the food banks start to run low on supplies.
Thank you for featuring Feeding America’s BackPack program in your blog post! We appreciate your support in the fight to end child hunger!
- Ryan Young (http://feedingamerica.org)
You are very welcome! Great cause and I am happy to help get the word out.
Sounds like a great program, especially the BackPack part. I’ve heard before about kids needing help during the summer months when the school programs aren’t available to serve them.
Thanks for sharing at http://alifeinbalance.net/12-days-christmas-favorite-local-nonprofit/