One of the alarming impacts of poverty is child hunger and food insecurity. With the current rates of poverty standing at 13% in the United States, more and more children are either backing out of education, struggling with malnourishment, or even experiencing severe mental impacts. Signs of lacking energy, frail bodies, and listless eyes are evident in children struggling with hunger and poverty in the United States.
If you want to bridge the gap between poverty and child hunger, there are a few steps you can partake in. Often, these are just small yet impactful steps that can eventually help a child in need.
Here’s what you can do to feed the hungry children:
1. Opt for Emergency Food Delivery
While it is true that families living in poverty do everything in their power to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, nobody knows when the next thunderstorm will hit. And, any form of emergency can put their entire budget out of order, leading to risks of no access to food. Emergency food delivery is a way to help out families struggling to buy food suddenly due to a multitude of reasons. There are organizations like https://www.feedthechildren.org that help with these needs.
2. Volunteer
Reports suggest that in the United States, there are over 63,000 non-profit organizations and agencies that are working towards child hunger. Often, they lack the workforce to deliver the food to the needful. You can do your part by making their job a lot easier by signing up to volunteer throughout the year. There are regional food banks, care centers, and several other spots where you can volunteer and deliver the food to those in need.
3. Fundraise
If you are witnessing child hunger in front of your eyes, fundraising is an excellent way to support them. Sometimes, we want to help people out, only to realize that we don’t always have the means ourselves. If that is the case with you, use the power of social media and make a live fundraising event to help out families around you that need the extra cash to help them with the food every month. Several genuine fundraising platforms on the Internet can help you set everything up.
4. Advocate
Sometimes, all you have to do is speak up. When citizens vocally advocate for the underprivileged and the lack of access to food and basic amenities, it pushes the government to step up its game and change policies to help those in need. These government officials need to listen to the plea of the children and the families living under the poverty line with less than minimum wages. And, as a person with privilege and like a platform, we can’t afford to be bystanders and instead need to voice our opinions.
5. Free School Lunch
Over 62% of teachers from schools across the United States suggest that they witness multiple children coming to school hungry. Consistent lack of nutrition and hunger pains can make a child less focused and even fail their grades. Some organizations support free school lunch programs that you can donate your money to. This goes towards eradicating child hunger and helps the children living with poverty get access to a healthy school lunch every day to focus on their education and not struggle physically and mentally.
Sometimes, all you need to do is research, educate yourself and then advocate for the children who need the basic necessity for survival – FOOD. It is high time that you avoid turning a blind eye to situations and instead take the first step towards introducing the change that you want to see in the world.