FEEDING CHILDREN

Research from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) shows that a single parent with two children typically needs to earn $16.50 an hour full-time – or about $34,000 a year – to provide for the family’s basic needs, and with the recent increases in basic needs costs, like food, rent and utilities, families are spending closer to 40 percent of their household income on food.

Research has also found that children who are food-insecure are more likely to have difficulty concentrating in school, have behavioral and emotional problems and be in poor health.

Sadly, more than 20 percent of members in households, or 5,000 individuals, served by Second Harvest are children under 18 years old.

In response to childhood hunger, Second Harvest provides three child-hunger programs, Kids Café®, Backpack Buddies* and most recently a summer feeding program in 2009.

Lunchbox Diner helps children during the summer months receive nutritious lunches provided through the summer feeding service program (SFSP). Last year, Second Harvest initiated the program in St. Joseph at 4 HUD housing complexes and two other sites. More than 10,000 meals were served during the 10 weeks of summer.

The Kids Café® program located at the Bartlett Center in St. Joseph started in 2005 and provides nutritious meals for children after school and during the summer months.

Backpack Buddies, launched in 2003, provides a backpack filled with nutritious, child-friendly food for schoolchildren and their siblings to take home over the weekend. The program initially served children in the St. Joseph School District, but has expanded to Andrew, Buchanan, DeKalb, Harrison, Grundy and Livingston counties in Missouri and Brown and Leavenworth Counties in Kansas.  The program now serves an average of 1,370 students. Donate to  Backpack Buddies.

There’s no limit to what a child can learn when equipped with the right school supplies and a full stomach. In truth, ending hunger is an investment in America’s future. Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children, particularly low-income children. That’s why Second Harvest believes in making an investment in our children to ensure a brighter future.

*A special thank you to United Way of Greater St. Joseph’s H.E.L.P. Fund for supporting over 60 children in St. Joseph.