In all the craziness of Back to School, it's easy to forget that there are others who have it much harder than us. Sure I'm struggling buying all that my three kids will need to start all of their new activities, but what about all the people out there who don't have money to buy the most basic necessities? Taking a moment away from my insanity makes me realize how easy I have it.
I recently heard about a great program run by the Community Foodbank of NJ: the Backpack program which provides backpacks full of supplemental nutritious, kid-friendly food to children who are might go hungry over the weekend. Food packages are delivered weekly to participating schools where staff members distribute them in backpacks, which are also donated by the program. The children can keep the backpacks for personal use. During the 2006-2007 school year, they served nearly 500 students per week in 21 schools located in Newark, Elizabeth, Piscataway, and Atlantic City. Overall, they provided 10,800 packages of weekend food to children in need.
Our family is blessed with so much - good health, plenty of food, amazing blog swag... I'm always looking for ways to give back. I was thrilled to be able to use my blog to spread the word about this great program which exists thanks to corporate or individual donations. They accept both food donations and cash donations to purchase the food at very discounted rates. A $14 donation will sponsor a child for a month!
Take a minute to make Back to School easier for someone else - it might make yours seem easier. I know it did for me!
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this... childhood hunger always leaves me with an ache in my heart. It's important to keep it all in perspective when we are evaluating our net worth.
This is a great program. We have something similar, here.
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