It is estimated that 200,000 children in Arkansas face hunger on a daily basis, including an 10,000 children here in North Central Arkansas. While the national average is one in every five children are considered food insecure, in Arkansas that number is one in four and a staggering one in three in this region of the state. In an effort to eliminate childhood hunger locally, the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas, which is part of Feeding America, is now part of another national program, No Kid Hungry Campaign of Share Our Strength.
The previous segment in this series on the No Kid Hungry Campaign focused on the issue of food insecurity among children and how the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas and schools are working together to feed children. This segment will focus on the programs of the No Kid Hungry Campaign and how it addresses the needs of hungry children and their families.
One program, the Back Pack or Weekend Meals Program, provides weekend food to children to fill in the gap between school lunch on Friday and breakfast when they return to school on Monday. Over 600 back packs are distributed each week to school children in Baxter County, according to Whitney Alshire-Embrey from the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas.
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The back packs, which contain healthy snacks and small, easy to prepare meals, are filled by volunteers from local churches. They are distributed on Friday, anonymously, to children who teachers and school counselors have identified as in need.
This past summer, the food bank introduced the Summer Feeding Program in Baxter County, to provide meals to children during the summer break from school.
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In October the food bank will begin an after school program to feed children, says Alshire-Embrey.
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Two other programs, Cooking Matters and Shopping Matters, are designed to teach children and their families how to prepare healthy, nutritious meals.
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A program designed to end the cycle of poverty are the Getting Ahead Classes where adults and families gain the skills needed for budgeting and financial planning.
This month Our Community Cares, sponsored by FNBC, Sleep Mart, Danny Porter of Century 21 LeMac Realty, Baxter Regional Medical Center, Jackson Equipment Rental and Supplies, Brooks Medical Supply, Advanced Auto Body, Century 21 LeMac Realty, Ozark Surgical Group and KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot focuses on the No Kid Hungry Campaign of the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas. Learn more at ktlo.com. .https://www.ktlo.com./pages/16030402.php?
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