LatinaLista — The US Dept. of Agriculture estimates that global food prices set a record last month. The ripple effect of those high prices is felt everyday for families as they browse grocery store shelves.
For many families, it has become less of a question: Will the kids eat it? to Can we afford it? The USDA estimates that feeding a family of four can range from $135 to $268 a week.
An early participant of the Share Your Breakfast campaign uploaded their morning bowl of cereal and in the process provided a hungry child with a needed meal.
Among Latino families where the poverty rate hovers at 23 percent and the median income has plummeted to $37,913, according to the US Census, the price of food bites deeply into the family budget.
In fact, some children go without one of the most important meals of the day — breakfast. At least now, children who qualify can get a free breakfast at school through federally funded school programs but these are on the radar of many legislators who think depriving kids of food is a good way to balance the budget.
Yet every study released about child nutrition emphasizes how breakfast is important for kids to do well in school. So what can the average, cash-strapped person do to help deserving kids get a good breakfast?
It’s as simple as taking a picture.
Between now and July 31, 2011, the cereal maker Kellogg’s and Action for Healthy Kids, a nonprofit organization that focuses on childhood obesity and undernourishment, will donate 1 million breakfasts to less fortunate children every time someone sends a picture of their breakfast and uploads it to either the site Share Your Breakfast or the Spanish version Comparte Tu Desayuno or texts the photo with the word “Share” or “Favor” to 21534.
Organizers are even asking people to tweet about sharing their breakfasts at #ShareURbreakfast.
The bilingual campaign officially kicks off on National Breakfast Day (March 8). On this day, Kellogg’s will host breakfast at NY City’s Grand Central Station.
The goal of the campaign is to help share one million breakfasts by the start of the 2011-2012 school year.
