Before Suja and I met we both gave to the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati. At this time when the foodbanks are particularly in need of money to buy food, we feature this wonderful organization, which provides food for those who need food in Cincinnati. Here’s some information from the Foodbank’s website about feeding kids.
The Freestore Foodbank sees the daily struggles of childhood hunger, and the number of children who often go without food is distressing. Statistics indicate that more than 30% of Cincinnati and northern Kentucky children live in poverty. That translates to approximately more than 30,000 children, grades K- 8, in our area who are at risk of hunger. In Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport Public Schools, there are over 40 schools with at least 85% of students participating in the national free or reduced-cost breakfast and school lunch program, according to Ohio and Kentucky Departments of Education. While children may eat during school hours through these programs, many do not have enough food in the evenings and over the weekend. When children do not have proper nutrition, they are not able to learn. Research has shown that insufficient nutrition has devastating effects on childhood development. . . . To help fight childhood hunger, the Freestore Foodbank provides the Power Pack and Kids Cafe programs to ensure that as many children as possible have enough food to eat when not at school. . . . The Kids Cafe program is a national program of Feeding America. It began in Cincinnati in 1996, inspired by the following story told by Betty Cooley, former site coordinator of the Newport Church of God Kids Cafe: A nine-year-old girl sneaked into the church kitchen, found a large knife and used it to stab a hole in a quart-size can of ravioli. She was found in the corner of the Sunday School room using a plastic fork to dig the ravioli out of the jagged opening in the can. When discovered, she ran out the door. Betty, displaying the knife and tin can she saved as a reminder of the incident, said, “This is what real hunger looks like.” After she established the first Kids Cafe site, Betty also told of a seven-year-old girl who, having finished her fifth helping of chicken noodle soup at Kids Cafe, asked if she could go home to wake her baby brother. When Betty asked why, the girl said, “Because he went to bed hungry.”
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