Kids Say the WISEST Things…
Posted by Katherine Van Steenburgh on Friday, August 26, 2011
Editor’s Note: All summer, Share Our Strength staff will be visiting summer meals sites across the country to show our work in action. This post is part of that series. To learn more about Summer Meals, visit strength.org/summer. 
Last week in Colorado during the summer meals road trip, I was reminded again how wise kids are. It’s amazing how easy it is to lose site of the wisdom of children. Kids perceive, know, and understand things that many times, we can miss.
We visited a summer meals site in Pueblo that is located at a Family Resource Center and sponsored by the Care and Share Food Bank. At that site, our photographer, Lindsay, started to interviewed a few teen-aged girls who are a part of the community (Their moms also help run the Resource Center, so they know the programs very well).
As I overheard the interview between Lindsay and the three (10-12 year old girls), I was reminded again of the astute insight of children. These three girls spoke so clearly and intelligently about the need for and the importance of the summer meals program in their community. Without being prompted, they told us that many of their friends rely on school meals during the school year and they don’t have food during the summer. They know that many of their classmates and friends don’t have food at home during the summer and that their families need extra help during those months.
They have become advocates in their community and personally invite kids and friends to the lunch program every day. At the end of the interview, Lindsay asked them if they thought there was enough food in our country to feed everyone. One girl said, “No I don’t think there is enough because I see people and kids who are hungry.” But her friend chimed in and said, “I disagree. I think there IS enough, but we aren’t organized and people are selfish, so not everyone get’s the food they need, but there is enough and something needs to be done to change that.”
Listening to their girls talk about the summer meals program and hearing their observations, reminded me how important it is to ASK kids what they think. Listen to them and learn from their viewpoint. They talked about the need and the solution so eloquently and with a unique firsthand perspective.
Are there kids in your community or sphere that you can ask about summer meals? You might be surprised what you hear and learn.
RELATED LINKS:
— Learn more about Share Our Strength’s Summer Meals work
— Help Support Summer Meals Work
August 26, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: colorado, no kid hungry, summer meals
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