Nonprofit works with partners across U.S. to provide food, essentials for low-income families

OKLAHOMA CITY, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The summer months should be a carefree time for children to play with friends and enjoy their childhood. However, for millions of families, summertime is filled with food insecurity and worry about their children having enough to eat. Feed the Children, a leading nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, recognizes that hunger is all around us—even when we don't see it. That's why the nonprofit is kicking off it's summer hunger campaign to raise critical funds to help children in the U.S. and around the world.

As schools close for the summer and food and gas prices remain volatile, more families than ever risk living with food insecurity as they struggle to make up the difference. In fact, food insecurity is a pervasive problem across the country, and it's even more prevalent outside the U.S.

Government interventions like the American Rescue Plan Act's extension of school meals programs and other support have been meaningful, but they are set to expire mid-summer. For many families, a significant gap exists between how much food they can afford to buy and their actual food needs. Tens of millions of children rely on free or reduced lunches, and not all of them can take advantage of feeding programs at school sites. As a result, many families must still make impossible choices between buying food and paying utility bills or other necessary costs like transportation and childcare.

At Healing Waters Food Pantry in Arkansas, the summer is a busy and difficult time for the families they serve.

"Kids are being fed at home instead of eating at school, so that's an added expense," Pastor Robert said. "For many families, bills are higher in the summer –- water bills are higher, electric bills are higher because of air conditioning -- all of those things exponentially increase because the kids are home all day."  

He said this can cause many parents to prioritize expenses and decide what areas they can cut back on. "Parents have to make tough choices. Do I pay my rent? Do I pay my bills? Do I pay for food? If they can receive food, hygiene products or laundry detergent, that eases some of the pain they are experiencing," he said.

Feed the Children helps by providing vital support to families who need a little extra assistance while feeling the summertime squeeze. The nonprofit works closely with its national network of community partners - like Healing Waters Food Pantry - delivering nonperishable food items, as well as household essentials so they can by distributed within the communities where people need them most.

Household essentials like cleaning supplies, hygiene and personal care items are not covered by SNAP benefits. By supplying these items, Feed the Children provides parents and caregivers an opportunity to spend more of their budget on food for their families.

For parents like Shane who was laid off from his job, Feed the Children can help bridge the gap during tough times.

"For most people, we are just one little trip up away, one little thing can change your life. And you find yourself on the other side of the fence. Then it's either you break down and you fall all the way down and you give up or you just fight back and get back to where you can," he said. "We're thankful for Feed the Children for helping us during this challenging time."

Individuals and businesses can make a difference in the lives of children and their families by supporting Feed the Children's efforts to fight summer hunger. This will provide kids an opportunity to stay active and enjoy their summer. Through partnerships, the organization can provide $9 in food and essentials for each $1 donated.  For more information on how Feed the Children helps children across America and around the world, visit https://www.feedthechildren.org/summerhunger.

At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in eight countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships. Every dollar given goes nine times as far to provide food, hope, dignity and comfort.

For more information, visit feedthechildren.org

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SOURCE Feed the Children