moms-dawn-poor-32.html
JANUARY 2016
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january 2016 | brparents.com 33 food for the body and spirit
dawn
and the other
moms
started making sandwiches to help the families, and they taped bible passages to the packaging. ?ey brought the sandwiches and fresh fruit on a small wagon to the impoverished neighbor- hood to distribute to the children. ?e chil- dren came running to the wagon, not just for the food, but also to talk with
dawn
and the other
moms
. ??ese kids were hungry, not just in their bel- lies, but also to meet different people,?
dawn
says. ?i think when you grow up in generation- al poverty, you rarely see anything else. i?m sure the kids? parents are telling them they can be anything they want to be, but when the children look around their neighborhood, all they see is poverty. so they don?t actually see that they can do any better.? childhood hunger in louisiana: shocking statistics since that time,
dawn
has learned a lot about hunger in her community. she learned that many children go to school on monday morn- ing hungry because they didn?t have enough to eat during the weekend. ?depending on where you are in louisiana, ei- ther one in four or one in five children is in a food-insecure household. ?at means they don?t know where their next meal is coming from,?
dawn
says. ?i don?t know how you can do your homework if you?re starving all the time. we want to help families who struggle, however we can do that. we want to put an end to childhood hunger in our community.? growing quickly to meet the need inspired by an international prayer group called
moms
in touch international (miti), the group started calling themselves the
mighty
moms
. ?e more they learned about how many hungry kids there were in livings- ton parish, the more they wanted to help. ?e group achieved official nonprofit status in 2011, and now have 50-60 committed vol- unteers who help out every month, and even more around the holidays. ?we have some
mighty
dads and
mighty
granddads, as well as teenagers and children,? says
dawn
, who is a mother of three boys. ?it?s really important that we teach our kids to look out for others, and not to just look out for themselves.? reaching out in the community ?e
mighty
moms
are best known for their full tummy project. ?e
mighty
moms
part- ner with 40 schools to provide backpacks filled with easy-to-prepare foods for the neediest kids to take home on fridays to get them through the weekend. ?e students are selected by the schools and sent home with a permission slip for their parents to sign be- fore they are given a backpack. ?e project is highly economical, providing two lunches, two dinners, three breakfasts, and plenty of snacks for just $5.50 per backpack. still, with 500 kids currently participat- ing, that adds up to a monthly grocery bill of $10,000. but the
mighty
moms
do not receive any federal funding. ?e organization is run entirely by volunteers and supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses in the community. during the holidays, the
mighty
moms
hold their holiday pantry project. ?e project of- fers fresh foods to needy families for free so they can cook a holiday meal. ?ey even pro- vide the recipes. dreams for the future
dawn
?s biggest dream for the
mighty
moms
is to buy a food truck. ?e food truck would allow them to cook meals in a commercial kitchen, and then go out and serve them to needy families during the week. ?it?s a big dream,? she says, ?but we are saving. we are praying that if we could find a truck that?s in good enough condition, we could go out and serve some of these families hot food.?
dawn
also dreams of other
moms
starting branches of the
mighty
moms
in ascension and east baton rouge parishes, where she knows the need is great. to learn more about the
mighty
moms
, visit
mighty
moms
go.org . if you would like to help the
mighty
moms
in their mission to end childhood hunger, you can donate money, time, or food. ? full tummy grocery list the following items can be donated to the
mighty
moms
to fill backpacks for hungry kids. breakfast individual boxes of cereal cereal/breakfast bars instant oatmeal/grits pop-tarts lunch and dinner easy mac ready-to-eat soups spaghettio?s beanee weenees chef boyardee pop top meals snacks trail mix/nuts granola bars peanut butter/cheese crackers raisins/single-serve dried fruit single-serve packs of crackers fruit chews fruit cups/applesauce cups
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