My children have never been hungry.
They might tell you different--remembering that time I refused to get them a donut at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, because they wanted it. Or when they had to have an ice cream cone or they would starve at the beach.
But, my girls have never gone to bed without enough food or began their day without breakfast. There is always enough food on the table. My pantry overflows. My garden is full. We always can eat.
Sadly, one in five children in the United States do not have enough to eat. These children could live in my neighborhood. I am sure some of these children go to my daughter's school. And they are hungry, truly hungry.
No child should ever go to bed hungry. No mother should ever fear for her child's health because their just is not enough money to buy food.
This Spring and Summer, members of Congress are working to reauthorize the Farm Bill, legislation that provides funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Drastic cuts to SNAP are on the table in the Farm Bill and nearly half of all SNAP participants are children. If Congress cuts funding for this poverty relieving program, it will affect millions of children and families, leaving them even more vulnerable to hunger.
SNAP helps struggling families buy more food and fresh vegetables to feed their kids. It also provides nutrition education to families. The funds cuts SNAP is facing are devastating--millions of Americans', mostly children, could loss access to SNAP benefits, forcing them to go hungry.
SNAP also provides important economic benefits to communities across the country. For every SNAP dollar spent, $1.79 is returned to the economy.
The are 46 million Americans who rely on SNAP--half of these Americans are children.
What you can do:
They might tell you different--remembering that time I refused to get them a donut at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, because they wanted it. Or when they had to have an ice cream cone or they would starve at the beach.
But, my girls have never gone to bed without enough food or began their day without breakfast. There is always enough food on the table. My pantry overflows. My garden is full. We always can eat.Sadly, one in five children in the United States do not have enough to eat. These children could live in my neighborhood. I am sure some of these children go to my daughter's school. And they are hungry, truly hungry.
No child should ever go to bed hungry. No mother should ever fear for her child's health because their just is not enough money to buy food.
This Spring and Summer, members of Congress are working to reauthorize the Farm Bill, legislation that provides funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Drastic cuts to SNAP are on the table in the Farm Bill and nearly half of all SNAP participants are children. If Congress cuts funding for this poverty relieving program, it will affect millions of children and families, leaving them even more vulnerable to hunger.
SNAP helps struggling families buy more food and fresh vegetables to feed their kids. It also provides nutrition education to families. The funds cuts SNAP is facing are devastating--millions of Americans', mostly children, could loss access to SNAP benefits, forcing them to go hungry.
SNAP also provides important economic benefits to communities across the country. For every SNAP dollar spent, $1.79 is returned to the economy.
The are 46 million Americans who rely on SNAP--half of these Americans are children.
What you can do:
- Visit http://nokidhungry.org/farmbill to send a message to Congress to reauthorize the Farm Bill and protect children
- Take the Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry Pledge and join voices across the country who are fighting to ensure our children never go to bed hungry.
- Tell your friends and family to join the fight for our nation's children.
Great post! It is crazy how many children are truly affected and who knows it could be your neighbor!
ReplyDeleteMy sil in Blue Bell shared with me that several families in her children's school needed to use these supplemental nutrition programs. Never thought there would be Blue Bell families needing help!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! Thanks for educating us on this.
ReplyDelete