The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on families throughout the country. In Virginia, school closures mean that the nearly 1.3 million 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 Virginia 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, distributing weekly bags of fresh produce, providing curb-side meal pick-up and even hopping on school buses to deliver meals directly to kids’ homes. These hunger heroes have shown tremendous dedication over the past weeks, all while juggling mounting stress and uncertainty.
Since the pandemic began, No Kid Hungry Virginia has provided $382,982 in 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’ll be celebrating and lifting up the amazing work that’s been happening across the state by:
● Sharing stories all month long on our social media
● Highlighting the work of partners, grantees and folks on the ground on our blog
● Lifting up hunger heroes and their work in our newsletter. Subscribe to learn more!
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, our team put together this toolkit. Be sure to include #ThankAHungerHero and tag @NoKidHungryVA 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 Virginia. We’ll be posting across No Kid Hungry’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook on May 14-19 in the lead-up to the big day, so be sure to follow along.
No Kid Hungry Virginia 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.