Feeding hungry children more than a holiday need

I dreamed recently of turkey and country ham, dressing balls and heavily buttered mashed potatoes, carrots, salad and roasted squash before diving into decadent homemade transparent puddings and macaroons.

With my children scattered to the far ends of North America — from Western Canada to eastern Virginia — I joyously anticipate the gathering of multiple generations to share in the food-indulgent celebration on Thanksgiving Day.

However, in the early morning quiet, as I filled a white grocery bag for the Boy Scout Troop food drive, I grappled with the fact that my family’s good fortune is in stark relief to the almost 200,000 food-insecure Kentucky children in households where there is a daily lack of the nutritious food necessary for an active, healthy childhood.

Many food-insecure households celebrate holidays by eating poorly or not at all. Why today, with our long grocery lists and longer list of chores, should we care?

Because child food insecurity significantly increases the risk of academic failure, behavioral problems — including hyperactivity, aggression, depression and anxiety — a higher risk for medical problems, such as anemia and asthma, and poor social interaction skills.

Nationally, more than 25 percent of food-insecure children live in homes where incomes are too high to qualify for government food programs but too low to provide sufficient family nutrition.

For these families, community assistance plays a vital role. If we care today, we can change tomorrow.

We have an obligation to ensure every child in the commonwealth has the opportunity to reach their life potential. In a state where there is an unequal distribution of assets, that requires creative solutions for feeding those in need.

Recognizing this need, many charitable organizations, churches and individuals step up to provide families with extra food during the holidays.

The donated food baskets, delivered meals and foodstuffs collected during annual food drives, while beneficial in closing some food gaps for Thanksgiving and Christmas, do not begin to address the daily needs for children living in food-insecure households.

When I searched my own county to see what we are doing to address child food insecurity, I was directed to the Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club. Several years ago, club leadership recognized that, while the children were being exposed to excellent after-school programming, hunger prevented their full participation.

After years of searching for a way to consistently provide free snacks and meals, a serendipitous encounter led to the United Methodist Church Food Ministry out of Northern Kentucky.

The ministry provides meals through the currently under-utilized Child and Adult Care Food Program, part of the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, which provides funding for after-school suppers.

Because Mason County, like too many Kentucky counties, met the income guidelines of the program, the club is able to serve a nutritious, well-balanced dinner-time meal every day to 300 children, thus curbing their hunger, increasing their participation in club programs and significantly decreasing behavioral issues.

This Thanksgiving, and every day, keep us ever mindful of the need of others. As I give thanks for the work of the Boys and Girls Club, I entreat every person who is blessed to live in a food-secure home to find a way to help.

If more communities commit to the difficult, but essential, task of bringing food security to children in every county, we can then celebrate in the true spirit of the first Thanksgiving: sharing our bountiful harvest with those who have less and need more.