If you visit my blog frequently I’m sure you’ve noticed the addition of the big, red push pin on my right side bar —>. It says that I am a blog ambassador for ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here campaign.
Why did I want to participate in this special iniative? Becaue I truly believe that together we can ensure that no child should ever go to bed hungry, and no parent should have to cry themselves to sleep at night not knowing how they are going to feed their family the next day.
Many people assume that child hunger is something that only effects children in third world countries. Yes, hunger and famine are rampant in other countries, but it’s also a serious issue right here in the United States. In fact it’s effecting people in your own “backyard”. Your neighbor or co-worker could actually be struggling to find their next meal unbeknown to you. Let’s face it, most people are not going to go around telling everyone that they are hungry and cannot feed their family. Some keep their silence due to shame and fear that others might see them as being a horrible parent. Other people don’t speak up out of pride. Whatever their reason might be one thing still remains – their family does not have enough to eat.
If you think that starving children are not in your community, think again. According to the website, Child Hunger Ends Here (www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com) there are nearly 17,000 children in my community who are “food insecure”, which means their family doesn’t know if and when they will have their next meal. I live in the suburbs of New York City. There are plenty of low-to-middle income families here in my county. There are also incredibly rich people too. We are surrounded by $1,000,000+ homes.
Across the river from where I live is Westchester County (NY). Westchester is one of the countries richest counties. You’d be lucky to find a shoe box sized house there for under half a million. Even in a county where most people are veyr well off there are over 42,000+ children who are “food insecure”. WOW! That just totally blows my mind.
To see what the statistics are in your county or state visit the Child Hunger Ends Here website, then click on the “Realities of Hunger” tab (on top). Next scroll down to the bottom where the map of the US is located.
Even in this great country of ours one out of every five children doesn’t know where his or her next meal is coming from. The next time you visit your child’s classroom or playgroup, look around. Look at all the children you see. Then think that at least one out of every five children you are looking at might not have anything to eat today, or tomorrow. How does that make you feel?
People assume that “food insecure” children are homeless or live well under the poverty level. It simply means that they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. A child could be missing meals or not able to eat on a regular basis.
My family does not dine on gourmet meals every night. In fact last night they a had tuna mixed with hard boiled eggs on toast. We also keep a bulk size package of Ramen Noodles because some weeks are a bit harder than other. But at least my children get three meals per day plus snacks. I don’t know how I would feel if I couldn’t feed my children dinner… or breakfast… or lunch. I know it would kill me not to be able to provide my family with their most basic need – FOOD.
How would YOU feel if you couldn’t feed your family?
There is a way you can help provide a meal for a hungry child, and it doesn’t have to cost you a dime (although financial donations are always welcomed).
ConAgra has teamed up with Feeding America with their Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. You can help provide a meal for a child simply by shopping like you normally would and uploading codes found on specially marked packages on the Child Hunger Ends Here website. You can’t get any easier than that.
Participating ConAgra brands include the following;
– Banquet
– Chef Boyardee
– Healthy Choice
– Hunt’s
– Marie Callendar’s
– Manwhich
– Orville Redenbacher
– Peter Pan
– Snack Pack
Look for the 8 digit code on the packaging and visit the Child Hunger Ends Here website (www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com) and type in the code. The code will help provide one meal through Feeding America’s network of food banks, up to a maximum of 3 million meals for codes entered through August 31, 2012. This is valid in U.S. only.
This is ConAgra’s third year in participating with the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. This year they have introduced a new element in hopes of encouraging consumers to upload their codes. This year when you submit a code on the Child Hunger Ends Here website you can download a free song called “Here’s Hope“. The song was co-written by industry-leading songwriters Hunter Hayes, Luke Laird and Barry Dean. This original song leverages the power of music to inspire action, touch hearts and raise awareness for the issue, while motivating consumers to learn how they can help end child hunger in the United States.
There are different versions of the song Here’s Hope. Consumers can choose to download the song sung by Jewel, Owl City and/or Jay Sean plus enjoy exclusive content from each artist.
On top of downloads and access to cool content, consumers can also submit their zip code to enter their local Feeding America food bank into a competition for an 80,000-meal donation. At the end of the campaign, ten food banks in the zip codes with the most entries will the donation courtesy of ConAgra Foods.
As you can see there is so much that you can do to help, and all it takes is simply entering in a code found on select product packaging. With that one simple task you can help provide a meal to a child so that he/she does not go to bed hungry at night or can have a nutrious meal for breakfast making it easier for them to concentrate and do well with their school work.
For more information please visit www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com. You can also follow ConAgra on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/ConAgraFoods) and on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/ConAgraFoods or @ConAgraFoods).
You can also follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #ChildHunger.
Over the next few weeks I will be posting more about the campaign and providing you with important information about Child Hunger in our country.
Kimberly
*I am a brand ambassador for the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign and I am going to be compensated for my participation. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own. Stats and information provided by ConAgra and Feeding America.
Nichol says
Thank you for the information on the codes, I will definitely be looking for them. I hate that many are starving when we can help in little ways.
Kimberly says
Thanks Nichol. That is wonderful of you to do that for others.
It’s a great campaign because it’s not asking for $$$ donation but rather shop like you normally do. Personally I buy Orville Redenbacher already (as well as a few of the other brands). So it’s not like I have to do much other then upload the codes which will take maybe 1 minute at best. That one minute can mean the difference between a child eating or not eating tomorrow. 🙁
Shelly says
On some boxes I see the push pin, but no code to be found (for instance I have a Healthy Choice box right now I’m looking at)…on other packages it’s obvious. Do some packages not have the code even though it’s a participating ConAgra product?
Maranda says
I have the same problem as Shelly. I have a can of Chef Boyardee mini raviolis and it has a red push pin that says Child Hunger Ends Here, but there is no code anywhere on the label. It’s really frustrating. How am I supposed to help and enter the code for the product that I purchased if the company doesn’t provide a code?