All of us have at one time or another experienced hunger. We’ve all craved a midnight snack, wanted something salty or needed some chocolate. But there’s a big difference between trying to satisfy a brief craving or stomach growl and wondering where your next meal will come from.
The reality is that more than 12.4 million children in America—that’s one in six—are at risk of hunger. And it’s likely that these children will endure lifelong consequences as a result of having limited access to nutritious foods.
Children who don’t get enough nutritious food are more likely to have:
- Weaker immune systems
- Impeded growth and development
- More stomach- and headaches, colds and ear infections
- Increased susceptibility to obesity
- Impaired performance at school—academically, athletically and socially
During the week of Sept 20 -26, coffee shops to fine dining, restaurants across the nation will join together for the Great American Dine Out. Participating restaurants give in a variety of ways— donate a percentage of sales, promote select menu items, collect money from suppliers and guests and much more. The funds raised from this campaign will support:
- Increasing participation in school food and nutrition programs
- Increasing the number of community gardens
- Food banks and food pantries
- Increasing access to fresh produce
- Increasing utilization of federal child food and nutrition programs, e.g. food stamps, school breakfast, etc.
- Advocacy around Child food and nutrition-related programs
First Watch, Captain D’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Barbie’s Bistro are among the early eateries in the area signed up to participate. Click below to check for others:
Find local participating restaurants
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