Hungry children in Ft Myers Florida wait out long weekend

Several months ago in the middle of service at church our minister asked a man to come forward and speak. I don't recall the man's name, but, the story he told struck a nerve in me, and is a large part of why I sit here writing this blog today! It's a safe assumption to say " we all " know the recent economic downturn has changed all of our lives here in Lee County, but, after hearing what this man had to say I realized I hadn't yet grasped the extent to which some lives were affected, and the hardships too many are forced to endure.

He shared a story told to him by a friend, who happened to be a principal at a local elementary school. She came to school one particular Monday morning and was greeting the students as they filed in from the buses and the area where parents drop off their kids. Most of the students had made their way to their classrooms, however, a few still lingered in the halls, among these was a group of 3 kids from the same family. What drew her attention was the fact that they were all standing together, holding each other and crying. When she asked them what was wrong their response surprised her ... they were crying because they hadn't eaten since their school lunch on Friday ... and their stomaches were hurting! She immediately took them to the cafeteria and had food served to them. It was at this point when she got another surprise, the children each took some of the food and put it away to take home with them, apparently there was another child at home, not yet old enough to go to school, who hadn't eaten since Friday either. She instructed the cafeteria workers to make sure at the end of the day these kids had food in their backpacks to take home. With their belly's full and their tears dried she sent the kids to class, and went to her office to make some calls.

Her first call was to a friend and associate of hers who was also an elementary school principal, she thought she would surprise her friend with the story, but it turned out this principal was dealing with the same issue with several of her students as well. They decided action needed to be taken ... they started calling schools around the county and telling administrators about the problem, they advised their staff to be on the lookout for any sign in the students that they might be hungry, and to advise them immediately, and they ( the administrators and teachers ) all started bringing food to school so that on Fridays they could fill the kids backpacks with enough food to get them through the weekend!

Since I first heard this story there hasn't been a day I didn't think about it at some point, and it has changed forever the way I look at teachers and school staff! I've kept my eyes and ears open lately when I visit my own daughter's school, and I've seen and heard enough to know that this is going on in my neighborhood as well, this problem is real and ongoing! If there is a time for action ... that time is NOW!

Contact a local food bank, find a church that is feeding the hungry, when someone asks for a canned food donation give as much as you can ... the need has never been greater!

I hope to post links to organizations in our community who can use YOUR help in the very near future.

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