{"id":11553,"date":"2020-05-19T21:30:52","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T21:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/tennessee\/?p=11553"},"modified":"2020-05-20T14:21:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T14:21:50","slug":"this-month-thankahungerhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/tennessee\/2020\/05\/19\/this-month-thankahungerhero\/","title":{"rendered":"This month, #ThankAHungerHero"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on families throughout the country. In Tennessee, school closures mean that the millions of\u00a0kids who rely on school meals are at risk for going without the food they\u2019ve depended on during the school year.\u00a0<\/p>

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 Tennessee\u00a0have remained nourished during the crisis.\u00a0<\/p>

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\u2019ve worked tirelessly, often for longer shifts and without days off. They\u2019ve also found creative ways to get meals to kids, distributing weekly bags of fresh produce, providing curb-side meal pick-up and even hopping on school buses to deliver meals directly to kids\u2019 homes. These hunger heroes have shown tremendous dedication over the past weeks, all while juggling mounting stress and uncertainty. Take a look at some of our hunger heroes:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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YMCA of Memphis<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Y’s mission is to serve children and families by adapting to meet the needs of the communities they serve. When the COVID-19 crisis first began, it was the vision of the local school leadership at Shelby County Schools to provide meals to children who would go without while schools were closed. With this vision, the YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South, alongside many partner organizations, pivoted operations to meet the needs of children and has been able to serve over 300,000 meals in just over 2 months. With ongoing support from donors and other organizations, they served over 2.6 million meals to children this summer.\u200b<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Etowah City School<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u00a0Etowah City School emergency feeding continues to grow. They distribute between 485- 530 meal bags per serving day. Each bag contains three breakfast meals, and three lunch meals. The meals consist of sandwiches, grab and go items, as well as from scratch meals. Included are fresh fruits and vegetables they can obtain them. They distribute the meals along with school work via a drive thru service.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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We\u2019re so grateful to all of the amazing people who are hard at work finding new and innovative ways to feed hungry kids while schools are closed. Thank you for everything you do! #ThankAHungerHero<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Since the pandemic began, No Kid Hungry Tennessee\u00a0has provided\u00a0$195,00<\/strong>\u00a0in emergency grants to support the work our hunger heroes are doing across the state. This month, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Throughout May, we\u2019ll be celebrating and lifting up the amazing work that\u2019s been happening across the state by:\u00a0<\/p>