Share Our Strength: Urge Your Community to Learn More about Childhood Hunger

Today (Sept. 7, 2011), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report with eye-opening details about hunger in America. While childhood hunger has long been an invisible problem to many Americans, it is getting harder to ignore. In 2010:

• One out of every five children lived in households that struggled to afford food
• Over 16 million children were at risk of hunger
• These numbers are part of a record-high, three-year trend for the 16 years in which the federal government has tracked this statistic.

The consequences of childhood hunger are devastating. Kids at risk of hunger are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems, suffer from fatigue and poor health, and perform poorly in school academically, athletically and socially. The release of these alarming statistics from the USDA presents an important opportunity to get out a critical message about childhood hunger. There are people in your community who care—people who’d be heartbroken to know that the kid down the street doesn’t have food to eat—but who won’t understand the impact that hunger has in their backyard unless someone tells them.

Here’s where we need your help. Click on this link to send an you send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to encourage others in your community to learn more about childhood hunger and speak out? We’ve made it easy for you by providing you the message we’d like to you to share. The more we can make childhood hunger visible, the more likely we’ll be able to ensure no kid goes hungry in America.

Thank you for all you do to support Share Our Strength.

Sincerely,

Billy Shore

Executive Director