As parents, we love this festive time of year when the holidays are just around the corner. Planning for celebrations and winter festivities gives us a chance to experience the holidays through our children’s eyes and make magic for them. It also makes us realize just how much work — and expense — can be involved in creating this magic.
For many millions of parents, the holidays aren’t magical as much as they are stressful, and the decisions are much more difficult than which train table or dollhouse to buy. About 10 percent of American families have experienced “food insecurity” at some point this year, including 13 million children.
What is food insecurity?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food security as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life.” In families that experience food insecurity, the monthly food budget may run out, family members may have to skip meals, and the nutritional quality of available food might be low. That can have lifelong impacts on the children growing up in food insecure families; not only can their physical health suffer, but they’re more likely to have problems in school and social relationships. The pandemic has made things even harder on families, as many kids rely on school food programs for a steady source of reliable nutrition.
How can we help?
This month, Ruggish is supporting No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in the United States. There are many ways to get involved with No Kid Hungry, including fundraising, advocacy, and easy things like searching for businesses in your area that support youth hunger efforts. (Older kids can even get involved as official youth ambassadors!)
You can also help by raising awareness! No Kid Hungry has compiled this database that lets you see how many children in your county are food insecure. Find your local data, then use No Kid Hungry’s templates to share in your Instagram stories. Together, we can spread the word that we can make a difference for hungry children.
