GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)-The biggest of efforts, thoughts and ideas sometimes start from the smallest of places. Kids’ Food Basket started as a small effort serving 125 kids, 21 years ago. Today, it is a flourishing place helping to fight Childhood hunger, currently serving over 10,000 meals every single day. The best part of this organization is that its efforts are the direct result of communities supporting its mission. That is thanks to so many community members who see a situation and do something about it to make a difference in the lives of so many children. No child should ever be hungry.
The Month of March is orange month to bring awareness to childhood hunger all month long. While March is National Nutrition month, there are still many barriers to food equity for many Michigan families to eat healthy food. According to a study called the ALICE report for Michigan, conducted by United Way in 2021, 38% of Michigan households struggle to afford basic necessities including food. Together as a community and a State we can come together and do something about it. While we are coming to the end of March there is still plenty of time to Go Orange with Kids’ Food Basket to help raise awareness and fight childhood hunger right here in our community. You can find more ways you can get involved and make a difference here.
Stephanie Tomaszek, 5th grade teacher at St. John Vianney school loves partnering with Kids’ Food Basket. She says it is important for her kids to understand that other children are not as blessed as we are. It also helps them to learn and grow up learning that they can make a difference in their community. Her class had fun creating lunch bags with fun pictures and words of encouragement with phrases such as “Smile, “Be Happy”, and “You matter”.
Mary K. Hoodhood shared with us many words of encouragement. Her book What I can Do attests to her life and to the story of how Kids Food Basket got started. You can learn more about Mary K. Hoodhood and purchase here book here.
