I write a lot about food on my blog because it’s such an important part of our daily lives. Obviously we need food to survive and thrive, but food is also important to us on a social level. We love to invite people over for dinner, take a meal to a sick friend, and even treat our neighbors to a yummy snack. Food is important to us on many different levels of our life.
As a mother, I often feel like I spend more time preparing food for my family than I spend on any other task in our home. It can be overwhelming and rewarding at the same time. I get frustrated when something doesn’t get put back in the right place in the fridge or in the pantry because I have to stop and re-organize everything to get it all to fit. Really? I get frustrated because my family has food?! Boy, does that stop me in my tracks especially since I know that childhood hunger is a major issue in both my local community and in the world.
In our school district, the fifth largest in the country, over 55% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. The federal government through the school district provides these kids with breakfast and lunch during the school year. But what about dinner, the weekends and summer break? And on a global scale, there are so many children that go without any food every single day. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a parent watching your child deal with hunger every single day.
A few years ago I was introduced to a local non-profit organization called Three Square whose mission is to provide three square meals to people who otherwise would not eat. One of Three Square’s programs focuses on kids. Each week during the school year volunteers gather to fill backpacks full of food. The volunteers head to schools on Friday afternoons to hand out the backpacks of food to students who otherwise wouldn’t eat over the weekend. During the summer Three Square collaborates with other organizations to provide an open meal program for any child. Meal sites are located throughout the city and kids can just show up and eat. I had the privilege of working with Three Square’s predecessor years ago and it was very moving to see the appreciation and joy on each child’s face when they received their backpack.
On a more global level, our family sponsors a child in the Phillipines through World Vision. Every month we give the equivalent of a dinner out to a help our sponsored child, Merry, receive food, medical treatment and an education. In addition to our monetary donation, we also send our sponsored child gifts, letters and cards throughout the year – and receive letters from her in return. It has been such a pleasure to receive photos and updates from her over the past three years and watch her grow and blossom in to a young woman. My kids enjoy sending and receiving letters from their “sister” on the other side of the world and learning about the Philippines.
My kids have never, ever gone hungry. Our fridge and pantry have never been empty. My family has no idea what it’s like to go to bed with hungry tummies for lack of food and I am so thankful for that. I’m also thankful for organizations like Three Square and World Vision who step up and fill a basic need on both a local and a global level.
Do you have any causes or organizations that are dear to you? Tell me about them and leave a link in the comments so we can all learn about them!
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Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Kleenex via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kleenex.
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Very True! Thanks for sharing your story. I’m grateful that we have food in our tables everyday. I can’t wait for my daughter to grow and understand the importance of helping others.
I’m always donating stuff and anything I can to local shelters and non-profit thrift stores.. its a great feeling!
XO
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It is easy to forget the basics: food on the table, roof over our heads, clean water and a place to stay warm. I can’t believe the fact you shared about your school district that is sad and reminds us of how privileged we are. It is a blessing to have all the comforts we have in our homes and yet we are always wanting more. Great reminder about being thankful that we have and to share some of it with our community. In San Diego I loved helping a local church, they don’t have a link but it is called “Mama Dee’s Pantry” and provided a month full of groceries to families in need. No questions asked you just had to prove you lived in the city, if not they would give you a loaf of bread, peanut butter, water and toiletries.
Twitter: thegabels
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Thanks for sharing about Mama Dee’s, Maribel! What a wonderful organization to provide so much without requiring much.
Twitter: sevenalive1
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I am honestly so grateful every single day that I am able to have enough food to feed our family. My kids have several friends at school that have received the backpacks of food. We have had more than one discussion in our home about how blessed we are and what we can do to help others. We like to donate and help out through our church we also participate in food drives and have worked at local soup kitchens. It’s great of you to help raise awareness so many kids don’t get what they need .
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Twitter: thegabels
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I try so hard to get my kids to understand how much they truly have – instead of focusing on the toy they want but don’t have.
Twitter: chitown_ashley
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That’s such a great thing that you do! I have the same passion and I like to help out more on a local level with the homeless in Vegas. There’s a non-profit organization that I love to volunteer for, Soup and a Smile, who run the morning soupline to feed the homeless and hungry downtown. If you and your family ever get the chance I suggest you check them out. They do it 4 times a week (weds-sat) at 6am-8am. I’ve been taking my son since he was 4 for two years now and he loves it. He’s even made some friends! It’s a great experience for all of us and it’s great to know these guys leave with full bellies. I always think, you never know, it can happen to us so I do what I can when I can
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Twitter: thegabels
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That sounds like a great organization!
Keep up spreading goodness! Love what you are doing by spreading this so well deserved cause. You ROCK!
Twitter: thegabels
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Thanks, Lynn!
I’ve been in a position growing up where there was literally nothing to eat at home, because my dad was going through some hard times. Thankfully now there are places to help others going through the same thing like food shelters and pantries, as well as the many organizations fighting to end hunger.
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Twitter: thegabels
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Thank you for sharing, Aly. I can only imagine how tough that was as a kid.
Twitter: LLandLoL
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I have never heard of this program but I’m so glad I stopped by to read this post! A great reminder of all we have. Thank you.
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Twitter: thegabels
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I’m glad you stopped by, too!
I love hearing about grassroots programs like that… I know that we have similar programs in some of our schools, but have never been involved. Our kids are big supporters of our local Food Bank.
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What a great cause. Nobody should ever go hungry, especially children.
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Twitter: thegabels
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Especially in a country with so much!
Twitter: theeleanorprior
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Three Square is such a wonderful local non-profits. Thank you so much children don’t always have a voice, and when organizations like this one step up it is wonderful and they give people a way to watch out for these children.
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Twitter: thegabels
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I agree! I love the work Three Square is doing for these families.
Twitter: FrugalFerrets
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Agree – so true.
I hate when anything is wasted as I lived overseas and saw so many kids without food for days and I always have flashbacks with those images.
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Twitter: happyhrprojects
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So true… When we got groceries this weekend, I found some of our shelves to be full at home. That’s a blessing, not something to be annoyed by, and I had to remind myself of that. We’ve agreed that this week we’re going to clean out our non-perishables and send our “extras” to our local food pantry, we have quite a few organizations that help people right in our county.
Thanks so much for sharing, Camille!
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