No Kid Hungry- a Very Personal Story

I'm going to share with you a very personal story. This is something that I've kept near and dear to me. Ever since my husband lost his really good job, in 2010, money has been super tight. We get by, but some weeks it's really tight! When things go wrong, you know, those months when there's a super big medical bill that needs paid or if the car needs tires, that sort of thing, there wasn't a lot of food in the house. My oldest daughter helped out as she could, but there were days when I made sure the kids were fed and I went to bed with a growling stomach. That feeling was awful. I hated it. I'm an overweight person and I lost weight, quickly. My head hurt. My body hurt. I had difficulty focusing. I'm an adult! My body isn't growing and developing! I'm so thankful that during these lean times my school age children were and are well fed at school. My youngest daughter's school just implemented a breakfast program at her school and she qualifies for free breakfast. I'm SO grateful. I insisted she get breakfast. She didn't want to eat it! She's embarrassed to get in the breakfast line. My breakfast choices here at home are limited to what I get at the food bank (usually a variety of granola bars and eggs, but I save the eggs for other things) and the cheaper sugary cereals I pick up at the grocery surplus stores for 99 cents. If she is able to get a full, hot breakfast at school, I really want her to participate! She now has a little friend who goes to the breakfast line with her. She gets a fabulous lunch at school. I know it's fabulous because once a week I try to go have lunch with her. They have a policy that if you lunch with your child, they ask that you don't bring outside food in. We see it all the time, Mcdonalds, Wendys, etc. We enjoy being able to sample the school lunches and share a part of Hope's day with her. The meals are quite good! This brings me to another part of the No Kid Hungry experience. The weekend bags. We now qualify for the weekend goodie bags. They are filled with items to carry Hope through the weekend. It's kind of a Meals on Wheels approach for her, when she can't be in school to get breakfast and lunch. It takes tremendous pressure off of me, worrying about yet another meal. We do give back in all ways as we are able. We donate a dollar when we buy groceries and donations are being taken for the No Kid Hungry Program. We also donate outgrown clothing to other charities and organizations. We are thankful for what is given to us and give in return. This proves that everyone, regardless of what you may have, can help. If you can't give money, volunteer your time. If you have excess of money but no time, give money. Programs, like No Kid Hungry, need your help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your help. ~Maggie