Simple Service: Fighting Childhood Hunger

A few months ago I attended a blogging conference in which the keynote speaker Brooke Walker from Studio 5 talked to bloggers about being able to use the blogging platform as a way to influence the world for good.  Since that time I have been on the look out for opportunities to serve families who are less fortunate than mine.  When the opportunity came to partner with Odwalla and Champions for Kids to help fight childhood hunger over the summer, I jumped at the chance to contribute.

When my children are hungry, all they have to do is open the pantry or fridge and choose from a variety of food options.  They have never had to worry about where their next meal will come from, and in fact I don’t think they have ever skipped a meal in their entire life.  With school ending soon, there are many children who have been receiving meals at school who will face the possibility of now being hungry.  And that breaks my heart!

But this is where we can help out.  Have you ever seen a child in need and wondered what you could do to help?  Champions for Kids is providing training and resources to millions of people across America to show that many people individually doing simple service projects can collectively make a huge difference.  The thought of being responsible for a huge community event can be overwhelming for most people but getting a few friends together and finding a simple way to serve is achievable for pretty much anyone.

I wanted to involve my children in doing a simple food drive for the food bank in our community.  We live in a small town that has been hit particularly hard by the downturn in the economy.  I wanted to show my boys that even a simple act of service can still make a difference.

My husband helps with my oldest son’s cub scout den so we thought is would be a great lesson for the boys to talk about service and have them participate in the food drive by donating a few cans of food.

Each boy participated and with just three of them being involved we filled 3 shopping bags with canned and boxed goods.  Not bad!

Odwalla and Champions for Kids help to spread the word about summer hunger and to provide healthy snack bars and juice boxes for kids.  My boys and I headed off to Walmart to purchase Odwalla snack bars to offer kids nutritious snack options over the summer. They had a few different kinds to choose from and we almost cleared the shelves!

I grabbed a couple of extra bars just for us to try.  I love their logo, “Where nutritious meets delicious.”  I am always on the look out for healthy foods that my kids will eat, especially for when we are on the go. And we are on the go constantly. My boys loved them!  You can read all about our shopping trip in my Summer Hunger Food Drive album.

I also mentioned to my friends that we were collecting food and a couple of them dropped food off at my house.  It was so simple!

Look at what just a few people can do.

We bagged up all of our food and took it to the Cappalappa Resource Center  that provides for the needs of less-fortunate families in our area.

The ladies working were so happy to see my cute boys come through the door with these bags of food and I was happy that they are learning the importance of serving others.

So how can you contribute to the fight against summer hunger?

1. Find out the needs in your area by asking your local food bank, a social worker, or religious leader.
2. Gather some friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc and organize a simple service project.  Have everyone donate non-perishable, un-expired food items.
3. Gather all of the items together and donate them to your local food bank.
4. Then share your story at www.championsforkids.org/share so they can help you celebrate your participation and also to connect with the millions of people around the country who are working to eliminate summer hunger.

School is almost out and it will be the perfect time to get your kids involved in serving people in your area.  If you host your own service project, let me know!  I’d love to hear how a simple service project made a difference in your neighborhood.