One in five children in the United States suffers from childhood hunger, according to the non-profit Share Our Strength. It’s a sad finding that in the wealthiest country in the world, 20% of our children (16 million ) go to bed hungry. According to the latest report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service “an estimated 14.5 percent of American households were food insecure” in 2012.
Dine Out to help combat childhood hunger
To combat the growing problem of childhood hunger in our country, Share Our Strength is once again spearheading their September Dine Out for No Kid Hungry program. Restaurants in all 50 states are participating with an end goal of raising over $10M this month.
It’s a natural fit for restaurants to partner with No Kid Hungry in this month long event. Participating restaurants are encouraged to develop creative fundraising campaigns to suit their demographics: Special menu items, matching donations and unique merchandise help funnel funds to the No Kid Hungry programs.
The No Kid Hungry solutions to childhood hunger include education, school meals and community awareness of the problem. Since 2011, No Kid Hungry has provided 34 million additional meals to kids in need. A problem as large as childhood hunger needs to be tackled one bite at time, so to speak. And No Kid Hungry’s Dine Out month is an easy way to get individuals involved.
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Marc Murphy (“Chopped” judge and restaurateur) is the official spokesperson for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign and was selected as their Humanitarian of the Year for 2013. Chef Murphy happens to be an Easy Ice customer as well.
“I’m a father and I know how important nutrition is for kids to have the energy they need to grow and learn. Knowing the number of children in our backyards who aren’t getting the nutrients they need, it just became a priority for me, and something that I can’t ignore.”
Going out for a meal is even more enjoyable when you know you are giving a child in need a meal at the same time. It’s Cool to give back to our communities!
If your restaurant is participating in No Kid Hungry Dine Out month, please leave a comment and tell us how you are raising money to end childhood hunger.
As the Co-Founder and COO of Easy Ice, John Mahlmeister has been working in the commercial ice machine industry since 2009. Co-headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and Marquette, MI, Easy Ice is the only national provider of full-service ice machine subscriptions in the industry. Since Easy Ice was founded, the number of ice machines under its management has grown to over 30,000 units across 47 states, with no signs of slowing down.