Maryland Summer Meals Campaign Kick Off
Posted by Alex Bogucki on Friday, July 1, 2011
In the United States, 21 million students who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year do not have access to them when school is out. It is startling statistics like this one that motivate me to be a part of the fight against childhood hunger. I am from Maryland, and have always loved Maryland, so I take hunger in Maryland personally. To many people ending childhood hunger is just an abstract ideal, but through the combined efforts of the different constituents of the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland, this ideal is transformed into a tangible goal that will be met. One of the very best ways to move towards this goal is through the Summer Meals Program.
It is a known fact that there is enough food for all of our young people in this country, but the issue is successfully delivering this food to the kids that need it. Just because the food is there doesn’t mean people are aware of the ways to receive this food. In fact, awareness is the toughest obstacle. This is why the Maryland Summer Meals Program is so important. Not only does the program offer more than a 1,000 sites where free meals are given out, but it also works to create awareness of the various meals sites across the state. Most importantly, finding all of the information about sites is made easy—just visit www.NoKidHungryMD.org or call 1-877-731-9300.
This week, I was able to attend the Baltimore Launch event for the Summer Meals Program featuring Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and ex-NFL star and Baltimore native Antonio Freeman, formerly of the Green Bay Packers. It was both exciting and powerful to see such figures support not only this program but all youths in Maryland. They made a point to look into the eyes of the children and grab their attention to let them know that they were indeed working for their well being. Children are the future and it was inspiring to see and feel that such great people are committed to working hard for the sake of all young people’s health.
I have had the pleasure to work on outreach materials to get the word out about these free meals, answer hotline calls informing others about meals sites, and help out at mobile meals sites by physically handing out food to children and teens at risk of hunger. Since 2008, the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland has increased the number of children eating summer meals each day by nearly 15 percent and based on the work I have done so far this summer, I expect these numbers to continue to grow in 2011.
July 1, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: maryland, summer meals, summer meals kick off
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