The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on families throughout the country. In Nebraska, school closures mean that the over 150,000 kids who rely on school meals are at risk for going without the food they’ve depended on during the school year.
When their communities needed them more than ever, schools, food banks, pantries and community organizations all across the state stepped up in incredible ways. Because of them, kids throughout Nebraska have remained nourished during the crisis.
These frontline hunger heroes – school nutrition and transportation professionals, community leaders, administrators, teachers, and volunteers – have done everything they can to ensure that kids continue to have access to meals. They’ve worked tirelessly, often for longer shifts and without days off. They’ve also found creative ways to get meals to kids, providing drive-thru meal pick-up and even delivering meals directly to kids’ homes. These hunger heroes have shown tremendous dedication over the past weeks, all while juggling mounting stress and uncertainty.
Given the extraordinary need that families are experiencing, we urge our legislators to prioritize food access for vulnerable families and their children. No Kid Hungry has developed a new resource – Supporting school, communities, and Nutrition Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommended State Policy Actions – that list options available to state policymakers to unlock the potential of federal and state food nutrition programs and ensure that families and children have the support they need.
- In Omaha, Food Bank for the Heartland is using grant funding to serve kids five breakfasts and lunches each week at 13 drive-thru sites that mitigate coronavirus exposure.
- Wood River Rural Schools is using funds from No Kid Hungry to purchase equipment for meal delivery, ensuring their students get the nutrition they need.
- Cozad Community Schools are purchasing equipment and supplies for transporting food, allowing them to distribute approximately 1,000 meals a day.
- Catholic Charities of Omaha is using your gifts to provide over 46,000 hungry kids and their families a five-day supply of packaged foods and daily access to fresh foods this year.
These are just a few of many hunger heroes across Nebraska. This month, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Throughout May, we’ll be celebrating and lifting up the amazing work that’s been happening across the state by:
- Sharing stories all month long on our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
- Lifting up hunger heroes and their work on our blog
JOIN US
We know you have hunger heroes in your community you want to thank too. You can:
- Celebrate your local hunger heroes on social media. To make posting as easy as possible, use this toolkit. Be sure to include #ThankAHungerHero and tag us so we can lift up what you’re sharing!
- On Wednesday, May 27, No Kid Hungry and our state campaigns are coming together for a moment of gratitude. We’ll be thanking hunger heroes all across the country. You can join in by engaging when we thank heroes from Nebraska. We’ll be posting across No Kid Hungry’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook in the lead-up to the big day, so be sure to follow along.
No Kid Hungry couldn’t be more grateful for each and every one of these individuals and organizations and for all of the hunger heroes on the front lines. Let’s come together to shower them with much-deserved gratitude and appreciation.