Not Just a Snow Day

This winter we've been hit HARD with bad weather. I don't believe we've had this many snow days in quite sometime. Kids are restless, parents are scrambling to find sitters for their kids so they can go to work and schools are trying to figure out how to juggle a multitude of school related issues that are effected by these lost days. I bet many of you didn't realize that one of these school related issues is food. I'm not talking about food budget or what to plan for lunch, I am talking about the children who will go without a meal or two when school is not in session. For many students, school is the one place they will receive breakfast and lunch. School is the place where they are guaranteed access to milk, protein, grains, fruits and veggies. Sure school lunches may not be the best source of nutrition, but that food sure does feel good to a hungry belly. I was absolutely blown away when I popped on the computer tonight and read this article:

 http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/2014/02/17/school-lunches-st-louis-cold-weather/5567571/

Children should be playing in the snow or building forts out of blankets on their snow days, not walking the frozen streets in hopes of scoring a meal or money to buy food! Imagine this scenario: a child ate breakfast and lunch at school on Friday, February 14th. He was off school Saturday and Sunday and again on Monday for the holiday/snow day (many schools were going to use this holiday as a make up day). Who knows and what this child has eaten since Friday afternoon. His first real meal may very well be Tuesday morning when he walks through the school doors. No child should ever have to worry about when and what he will eat. No parent should ever have to wonder how they will put food on the table. Hunger is a social issue that not only pisses me off, but it saddens to the core. There has to be something we can do to help this innocent children. I give regularly to the local food pantry and I also hold several food drives in my preschool, but I can't help but wonder what else we can do to to help. The next time you are at the store, pick up some extra cans of food and donate it to the local food pantry, help make a difference!