I Was A Single Mom Raising Two Young Children

Fortunately there are programs that assist families in crisis and can help to feed the children of the United States; however the number of hungry children is growing. Child hunger in the United States has been described as an increasingly complex problem and has been called the “silent epidemic.” (Goldstein, 2009)

Around the globe there are many who are at a state of no access to food. Not only does this effect the homeless, but also those with a family and children. Because of their low income or environmental state and even poverty, not everyone has a fair chance of a proper nutrition. This is where the role of food banks comes into place as it limits these problems to these individuals. Through charitable events at school, I have participated in giving canned food items or food items that will not rot within a couple of years or months. Participating in these events not only gave me a ticket to partake in the well-being for others, but it also gave me a more understanding as to how many people are really impacted with hunger as well as other forms of their needs.

In conclusion, hunger in America is at an all time high due to poverty and the economy. The increasingly high number of starving children has gone up over the past years and needs to be stopped. There are government programs set up to help stop hunger in American, such as, SNAP Food Stamps and WIC. We can get involved by volunteering with Feeding America or other non-for-profit organizations set for feeding the hungry. Food donations and monetary donations have always been a great way to help out for those who don’t have the time to donate.

During the time I spent volunteering at John C. Lincoln’s Food Bank, I was able to provide food, individual hygiene items, and infant supplies to families struggling to obtain these critical items for their families. When I first arrived at the food bank, I spent time constructing care packages with soap, toothbrushes, personal wipes, and other essential items for health care. Later in the day, I had the unique opportunity to assist with the simulated grocery store within the food bank. The structure of the store allowed individuals receiving food to feel as though they were actively participating instead of passively accepting food and feeling helpless. Overall, I was able to instill a sense of self-efficiency in individuals who were struggling to provide for their families while personally interacting and sharing my time in a meaningful way.

Many people do not realize that hunger and malnutrition is a problem that many Americans face on a daily basis. Maybe, we are failing to realize that our country is not perfect, but if we don’t try to do anything then more and more children will die. The problem with child hunger is that the United States may not face as dramatic problems with hunger as that of other countries, but

On Tuesday, October 3rd Monica Banks, a Wake Forest Divinity School student and a co-founder of New Communion, shared her experiences about her career/field of study and how it began to intermingle with food. Banks first began her career with a degree in business leadership and management and opening approximately 40 restaurant venues. After years of experience, she was looking for something more in life. After pursuing nursing she felt her calling was in the pastoral field and specifically surrounded food and poverty. As a second year student at Wake’s Divinity School, Banks was required to complete a group project, which led her the idea of the mobile pantry—now new communion. Banks felt such a passion for this project that she completed a grant application to United Way, which was eventually granted for the interfaith mobile food pantry. Banks took

“The agriculture Department estimated in 1999 that twelve million children were hungry or at risk of going hungry.” She proclaimed. The cause of that could be because parents who can’t afford or find service programs to park their vacationing children in front of the television, lock the door, and go to work hoping for

By understanding and becoming aware of this problem, our community has the power to impact thousands of people in Laredo by simply helping our local foodbanks provide the much-needed

In the United States the children and our elderly population are most vulnerable. A need that needs to be addressed is that older adults have a lack of income. This mean that older adults do not have much money for food, because they have a harder time finding work that is not too labor intense. A program that I propose that would service our older population would be provided meals to older adults in the community. The goals and needs that my service program would satisfied would be food insecurity and the goal would be to increase socialization and promote community involvement. A Congregate meals site in the local community center would serve low income to no income older adults who have a need for food. Congregate meals would provide a good warm and nutritious meal and it would address the hunger and food insecurity that many older adults are facing in many poor communities. I did independent research on similar programs and services that were similar to my service program.

The act of interest about this specific world issue has helped me pursue in contributing to those who are in financial crisis. With the help of my First Religious Confirmation program, I was able to help multiple of low income families by providing them with donated essential clothes and foods at the Santa Ana Civic Center. My program and I advertised our special cause to the community and have obtained numerous of food cans and clothes that can provide about ten families. Making a difference in people's lives have brought me joy in making a positive influence to them. Nobody should not be alone in facing their struggle but to to open to others in helping them. Because businesses are limited with hiring employees, many people in poverty does

The past few weeks I was able to be a part of an organization every Sunday called “Don’t forget Ontario.” Going into depth about this organization, this was an organization where my family and I got to feed the homeless. This organization has been around for 3 years now so it is fairly new. Anyone can be a part of this group, so all you have to do is contact the main person and tell them you’re interested. The best thing about this organization is that it was every Sunday after church and not just on holidays. My Nina stated something that hit my heart and that was, “Feeding the homeless is an easy task for the hands. It’s a tougher task for the heart. Yes, that’s a little cliché, but once you do one outside of the holiday season, you’ll understand.”

All over the world, children are struggling with food-insecurity, and some of those children could be right in front of you. Until one actually sees or hears about child hunger, many may not realize that it’s a problem. Many people might not know that this is a problem in Lubbock. As the 2016 chairman for Food 2 Kids, Kacee Hogg shared her thoughts on the program. She said, “I know that my children can walk into the pantry and they can pick out anything they want anytime, and sadly there’s a huge number of kids in Lubbock that are food-insecure and the thought of them going home on Friday and not knowing when their next meal would be is so sad to

In order to increase the capacity to nourish low -income families and to enhance food purchasing and preparation skills, a six-week cooking program, Cooking for a Cause, will be implemented in the local food pantry, Christ the King Food Pantry, in Concord, NH. Studies have shown that community nutrition intervention leads to a significant increases in self-reported knowledge of food preparation, positive food purchasing practices, and confidence in following a recipe and carrying out basic cooking skills. The Concord community is largely composed of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries and low-income individuals who are faced with the challenge of inadequate health, education, and resources. The goal of Cooking for a Cause is to increase capacity to nourish low-income families on a budget and to enhance food purchasing and preparation skills. Short term objectives for the program are that during the first year of this program, at least four, six-week programs will be conducted.

Have you ever wondered where you would rest your head at night? Where you would find your next meal? How would support your family given unforeseen sudden circumstances? I’ve never thought about the importance of these questions until a recent experience I had volunteering at a food pantry. There are organizations whose main purpose is to help those in need and provide resources to members of the community who are going through difficult times. A food pantry is a non-profit community serviced organization that provides members of the community with groceries and resources. From volunteering at this food pantry I learned more than ever to never “judge a book, by its cover”, or in other words, even though I person may look well put together on the outside, you never know what it is they are dealing with on the inside. I’ve encountered homeless members of the community, people who have suffered from physical abuse, and people who have experienced unexpected disasters such as house fires to expected job layoffs while volunteering at a food pantry. I’ve also come to appreciate everything that I have in my life from the roof over my head to the food in my stomach and that some people are less fortunate than me.

In 2014, a foundation called Feeding America did a survey on the people they serve and found that in order to stretch their food budgets 79% of them purchase inexpensive and unhealthy food in order to stay fed. This can seriously impact their health, because no matter the age, healthy bodies and minds require nutritious meals. In some cases, food insecurity can even lead to Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity. These are just a few examples of why food insecurity is so harmful. Fortunately, there are many organizations, clubs, and foundations that are committed to ending hunger in America, and eventually the world. The first step to solving this problem is spreading information, and realizing just how dangerous food insecurity is, and who it affects. After learning these things, you may want to help and there are many ways to do that. I’m sure in the past, you've donated food to the annual canned food drive our school puts on, and that’s just one way you can contribute to solving this problem. There are many organizations that ask for donations and will put your money to great use, for example every dollar you donate to Feeding America will provide 11 meals for a child in need.If you don’t have food or money to donate, you can donate