For nearly two years, the pandemic has disrupted daily life, taking a toll on the wellbeing of families across the country. As a result, hundreds of thousands of kids could be struggling with hunger, including 1 in 7 in Indiana.
Yet, amidst the crisis, there are reasons for hope – among them, folks all over our state have worked tirelessly to ensure kids in America have the food they need.
Principals, teachers, bus drivers, school nutrition staff, and members of community organizations–amongst others–have banded together and worked tirelessly to feed kids. Even in the face of ever-evolving challenges, these hunger heroes continue to innovate and adapt, connecting kids to the meals they need and ensuring families have access to nutrition assistance government programs like SNAP and P-EBT.
There are thousands of examples we could point to, and while we regret that we can’t list all of them, our gratitude goes out to each and every one.
Please join us in a big round of applause for these Hoosier Hunger Heroes and the many others like them:
Communities in Schools Employee, Pam Green, at Willard Elementary, Randolph Central School District
Pam leads a group of volunteers that pack over 120 student bags weekly for Randolph Central School District’s Weekend Backpack Program. Funding for this program comes from grants, such as The No Kid Hungry grant and community donations.
Social Studies Teacher, Annie Brandt, West Lafayette’s Klondike Middle School
“Our elementary students went from receiving a backpack of food each week to receiving no food help when they came to middle school. I knew the needs of our students didn’t change from one building to the other, so I was moved to make sure a backpack program continued with our middle school students.” – Annie Brandt
Food Service Director, Cami Whitten, Marian High School
Cami and her team work tirelessly to feed their students. Snow, rain, heat did not stop them from serving students! They serve out of 3 schools along with a drive-thru for breakfast and lunch.
During this season of gratitude, we recognize everyone making decisions to ensure meals are out the door and kids have the food they need in times of crisis and not.
Join us to support heroes like Pam, Annie, and Cami, helping kids get the meals they need to be their best.