Did you know that in the United States 1 in 5 children do not have enough to eat. I live in Arizona, and here the statistic is a little worse, 1 in 4 children do not have enough to eat. I’m really happy to be partnering with ConAgra Foods to share some simple ways to help out as well as some ways to get your own children involved.

First up though, I have to share this truly touching video. It is kids reacting to child hunger as well as some of their ideas of how to solve it. It’s really sweet and worth the watch!

ConAgra Foods has a really simple way for you to help combat Child Hunger. Visit ChildHungerEndsHere.com and enter a 8 digit code found on participating brands. For every code you enter, 1 meal will be donated, up to 3 million meals. Feed your family and feed a hungry child. It’s a pretty great idea! Here’s a list of participating brands:

There is a pretty good chance you purchase products from some of those brands already. Next time you are at the store, look for the red push pin on the package and make sure there is a code to donate a meal.

I wanted to get my kids informed and involved in a service project to donate food to a local food bank. My kids are 7 and 9 and are getting an age where they understand the world a bit better. My strategy for them to get the most out of this experience was to have them involved in every step of the process. We did research on local food banks and made a list of what types of food they were hoping to receive. Then we went shopping as a family and let the kids pick out the food as well as ring it up and pay. Fifty dollars seems like a lot of money to them, but it really helped them to understand exactly how far $50 goes at the grocery store. After our shopping trip, we headed off to donate the food. We were actually limited by the fact that a lot of food banks are closed on the weekends and with our school schedule we couldn’t make it on the weekdays. Thankfully the library was hosting a food drive and they were happy to accept our donation.

As I mentioned before most of the food banks were asking for similar food items, so I’ll share a list of those with you:

• Soups/stews/chili – specifically with pop top lids
• Peanut Butter
• Jelly
• Canned Fruit
• Canned Veggies
• Cereal
• Tuna

When we were shopping, we found Chef Boyardee with a pop top lid. We were able to enter the codes at ChildHungerEndsHere.com and then donate. It was like a super bonus! For those keeping track, Peter Pan, Van Camp’s, Wolf Brand Chili, and Libby’s are all brands that fall into the most requested list of food. Any and all food donations are appreciated but why not make your money go even farther!

Tips and ideas for teaching your kids about hunger.

• If your kids are a little younger, I did a really powerful object lesson on hunger a few years ago. You can read all about it HERE.
• For slightly older kids, here is a social experiment to help your kids realize the effects of hunger.
• My kids come home from school ravenous and ready for a snack. On Day 1, give them a short math quiz or puzzle to put together after they’ve had a snack. Time them and take note of how many they missed. Also be sure to ask them about how the felt during the quiz. Was it easy, did they have any trouble focusing, etc.  On Day 2, give them a similar quiz but before they’ve had a snack. Compare the time, their performance, as well as their feelings. Everyday kids are asked to learn new things, take standardized tests, and be good students on an empty stomach.  Food is not only fuel for our bodies but our minds!
• Use the number of kids in your child’s classroom to demonstrate the statistics. My son has 32 kids in his class, that means that 8 of them don’t have enough food. A statistic might not mean much to kids but when the can visual that Susie, Bobby, Nancy, Kevin, and Hillary might not have enough food to eat dinner tonight, it can really hit home.

Like post important things, this can’t be a “one and done” conversation. It will take lots of conversations and actions to teach our kids about hunger and what we can do to help. What have you done with your kids to teach them? Leave me a comment and let me know. I’m always looking for some new ideas. Don’t forget that you can check out ChildHungerEndsHere.com for resources and all the details of the program too. You can also share your experiences on social media with the hashtag #FightHungerTogether.

Disclosure: I partnered with the Motherhood and ConAgra Foods to bring you information about #FightHungerTogether and ChildHungerEndsHere.com. All thoughts and opinions are my own.