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Feeding Area Children Together

I felt my face suddenly get red and hot. Tears built up in my eyes. My son, my boy I had reluctantly sent out to the big world of kindergarten just this past Fall, had just described to me that he had witnessed a boy his age taking food from cafeteria garbage can. He wondered if that qualified as “stealing.” And he wondered, “why?”

I was sad. I was mad.

I searched my brain and my heart for the words to explain to my young sons – sitting at our own dinner table full of food. How could I explain to them what I had spent the past few months learning about? How could I explain to them that so many kids in our community go home from school to face hunger. Some only get to eat meals at school. Some come into school Monday morning bellyaching and exhausted. And if I do tell them… how could I heal their broken little hearts?

“We can be a part of solving this problem,” I promised them. “We can do whatever we can to help.”

“Like what?” my 8 year-old asked.

“I’ll tell them where the grocery store is,” my 6 year old suggested.

“Sometimes, for adults who are taking care of kids, there are so many things they need — clothes, medicine, a place to live, a way to get to work… sometimes there is nothing left to buy the food they need…” I started to explain.

“That’s not fair,” my 6 year old blurted out.

He was sad, too. He was mad.

The next day, 9 months pregnant with my fourth son, I gathered up a few good friends – and I asked them if they would help me feed some kids. And they dove in so fast — I wasn’t sure I could ever catch up. Suzanne, Marcus, Helen, Hassan and I (between us all we have 17 kids of our own) have spent countless hours planning, gathering, and doing. Together, we started Feeding Area Children Together (FACT).

What does FACT do?
In partnership with United Way of Central Minnesota and Kids Fighting Hunger and with help from #UniteCloud, we are getting ready to launch a pilot program at Discovery Elementary School this October. We will be discreetly placing our FACT Packs inside students’ own backpacks on Friday to feed them over the weekend. Our packs offer kid-friendly, complete, healthy meals and snacks that are culturally sensitive and allergy-safe.

What is a FACT Pack?
In partnership with United Way of Central Minnesota and Kids Fighting Hunger and with help from #UniteCloud, we are getting ready to launch a pilot program at Discovery Elementary School this October. We will be discreetly placing our FACT Packs inside students’ own backpacks on Friday to feed them over the weekend. Our packs offer kid-friendly, complete, healthy meals and snacks that are culturally sensitive and allergy-safe.

How much does a FACT Pack cost?
The cost is $12.50 to feed a child for one month. Just $150 feeds that child for a full school year!

HOW CAN I HELP?

To donate funding for FACT, please select “weekend hunger pack” from the drop-down menu on the United Way giving page (https://unitedwayhelps.org/donate/) or text: UWCM to 40403.

To donate food to put in the children’s packs, please see the flyer for a list of supplies and food that we need. All food can be dropped off at United Way of Central MN or we can arrange to pick the food up from you!

Our community’s need is overwhelming — and we have high hopes to reach more schools and feed even more kids once we fully fund our pilot school. We desperately need your help. Together, we can be a part of the solution to this problem. Truly, we can’t Feed Area Children Together without YOU!