Help Us Grill Hunger This Summer
With school out for the summer, many children may be looking forward to summer camps, family trips to the beach, grilling outdoors, and fun in the sun. But for some children, the summer simply means they will be hungry.
When school ends, many children no longer have access to free or reduced-cost school lunch programs which leaves families no choice but to lean more heavily on local food pantries for food assistance to make ends meet.
“In the summer, we see children knocking on our back doors looking for food,” said Steve Bridges with Mary’s House of Bread food pantry in north Baton Rouge. “We do what we can to help them as much as we are able to because we see that the need is great, and we know they aren’t getting meals through schools in the summer.”
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank collects, sorts, packs and distributes food to over 125 agencies across 11-parishes and the demand for food assistance always peaks in the summer months when pantries see demand rise. Being able to distribute more food to these agencies for the summer months to meet that demand means generating more support from the entire community by holding food drives and considering making financial donations to your Food Bank.
“Generally speaking, if you ask anyone, they will quickly agree that no child should ever have to go hungry,” said Mike Manning, President & CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
“Unfortunately, thousands of children here in our local area are food insecure, and the summer is often the hardest time of year,” said Manning. “That is why we try to remind our friends and neighbors to consider getting involved or supporting our mission in some way during this time.”
Supporting your Food Bank financially is a great way to help generate more meals for children in need. This year, you can help us Grill Hunger and feed children at the same time.
As part of our summer hunger campaign fund drive, your Food Bank is trying to increase the number of monthly donors, also known as Nourish 365 members, to sustain feeding programs for the months ahead. Now through the remainder of August, any new or existing Nourish 365 donors who commit or upgrade to a monthly recurring donation of $50 or more will be automatically entered for a chance to win a Blaze Premium LTE 4-Burner Gas Grill valued at $3,200, generously donated by BBQ Guys. The winner will be drawn and notified on September 2, 2024.
To learn more and participate in the Grill Hunger campaign, sign up to be a monthly donor here.
Meet the Team – Mark Walker
