Get Involved in Ending Child Hunger

My six year-old is a picky eater – 75% of the time, he looks at the food in front of him and says, “I’ll just have peanut butter on bread.” He has the luxury of being picky because he’s not living in a low-income home with little to no food options. He knows there is plenty of other food in the fridge.

However, kids in impoverished situations learn early on to eat whatever’s put in front of them, even if they hate the way it tastes. As much as my son’s pickiness drives me nuts, I wish all children had his privilege. Instead, in our nation, a country with historically unprecedented material wealth, one in four kids don’t know where there next meal is coming from.

The good thing is we don’t have to sit idly by tsk-tsking about the problem of child hunger. I’ve spent most of my life either working or volunteering in low-income communities, so over the past month I’ve been thrilled to be a part of ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here Neighborhood Rally campaign. I’ve been tweeting and blogging about the campaign, and I’m not alone! The campaign is harnessing the change-making potential of celebrities, bloggers and everyday people – all dedicated to making sure no child in America goes to bed hungry.

On the celebrity front, Child Hunger Ends Here’s main launch party was hosted on April 7 by the ladies of Wisteria Lane! Yes, the scheming Desperate Housewives set their differences aside and came together for a good cause. Dana Delany staged a rally in her fictional neighborhood of Wisteria Lane that drew celebs like David Arquette andKathy Ireland.

HouseParty helped host mini-rallies nationwide on March 28, and over the past couple of weeks, fourteen mom bloggers in fourteen cities across the country brought their communities together for inspiring neighborhood rallies where participants either made a donation or fundraised to help hungry kids in their local area.

Are you planning any neighborhood events or participating in any? If you’re interested, it’s not too late for you to get involved and host a rally. The site has a helpful rally-hosting toolkit they’ll send to you for free and it walks you through everything you need to know and do.

If rallies aren’t your thing, you can still help the cause by bidding on celebrity-donated items. The organization Clothes Off Our Back has autographed books from Holly Robinson-Peete, Courteney Cox’s jeans, and a platter from Kathy Ireland. There’s lots more there so check it out, and of course, the proceeds go the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign so bid-away! You can also follow @ConAgraFoods on Twitter or the ConAgra FB page for the latest updates:

Whatever way we each decide to get involved in ending child hunger, the most important thing is that we all help out and do something. I’d love to know, do you volunteer with other organizations working to end hunger? If so, please share them in the comments so we can share our knowledge about volunteer opportunities.

I really believe if we all work together, we can make a REAL difference and end child hunger. C’mon, we need more picky eaters with too many food options!

*photo courtesy of Flickr user Child Hunger Ends Here
*I'm working with ConAgra Foods on this campaign but all thoughts in this post are my own!