I have decided to make more of a conscious effort to use my blog as an avenue to support social good. Through my partnership with Walmart and the Global Team of 200 (founded by Mom Bloggers for Social Good), I will be actively posting about and supporting causes near and dear to me.
Today, I want to share a cause that I’d love to regularly contribute to; the Feeding America BackPack Program. Hunger is not only a problem in third world countries, but it is silently affecting those in our neighborhoods. More than 18 million children qualify for free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program… the fuel that gets them through the week.
But what about meals for the weekends? Some children don’t see another meal until they return to school. That is disheartening. I cannot imagine what these children may feel. I get this uneasy feeling in my gut whenever Jayden says, “I’m hungry, I’m hungry, pleeease!” whenever we are taking too long to prepare a meal or snack for him. What if we simply had nothing to give him to eat?
Fortunately, programs like Feeding America’s BackPack Program exist. For more than 15 years, the Feeding America BackPack Program has been helping children get the nutritious and easy-to-prepare food they need over the course of the weekend. Today, bags of food assembled at more than 150 local food banks are distributed at the end of the week to nearly 230,000 children every year. And with the help of food and financial contributions, they continue to provide more and more.
Walmart has been very active in contributing to end hunger through their partnership with Feeding America. In 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation launched the Fighting Hunger Together program – a $2 billion cash and in-kind commitment through 2015 to help end hunger in America. This initiative leverages Walmart’s size and resources to provide nutritious food and the Walmart Foundation’s ability to grant funding to nonprofits that help elevate the issue.
Walmart’s commitment to fight hunger
To date, the Fighting Hunger Together has provided more than $122 million in grants and 594 million pounds of food to communities. Through the end of 2015, Walmart will:
1. Donate more than 1.1 billion pounds of food from Walmart stores, distribution centers and Sam’s Club locations, valued at $1.75 billion
2. Award $250 million in grants to support hunger relief organizations at the local, state and national levels
3. Mobilize Walmart associates and customers to lend their help and expertise in the fight against hunger
4. Collaborate with government, food manufacturers, other foundations and corporations to better understand and fight the issue of hunger in America
View more Live Better stories/videos at www.walmart.com/livebetter.
Feeding America and Walmart are making great strides to keep children fed, but they can always use your help. You can help get more backpacks of food in the hands of children by donating to a participating food bank in your area.
I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. Walmart is compensating me for sharing this charitable cause. My participation is voluntary and all words and opinions are always my own. Read my full disclosure policy here.