Whether or not your family is suffering from food insecurity, it’s a problem that affects you.
Alabama’s future depends on our ability to produce a well-prepared and educated workforce to attract more companies to our state. That future workforce is our kids! But, while over 400,000 of our children don’t have enough to eat, they’re literally fighting against the effects of hunger to learn and progress in school.
Food insecurity affects 50 million people nationwide – mostly families with children. But how does that affect their education?
- Hungry children are twice as likely to have health problems causing distraction from learning and missed school days.
- Food insecure students perform more poorly in school because they can’t concentrate as well as peers.
- Kids in food insecure households have lower high-school graduation rates and have a hard time relating to other kids.
- And, a big concern for businesses – “workers who experienced hunger as children create a workforce pool that is less competitive, with lower levels of educational and technical skills, and seriously constrained human capital.”
In Alabama as many as 400,000 kids count on their schools for at least one meal per day, and the Alabama Food Bank Association (ALFBA) makes sure they have meals when school isn’t in session through the Summer Meals Program. In the era of COVID-19, that means the ALFBA’s work more than doubled because of school shutdowns, extended summer school-closures and reduced in-school teaching days.
And that’s why they need your help. When you register and compete in the 2021 Legal Food Frenzy, your firm helps the ALFBA provide nearly half a million meals to children through the Summer Feeding Program. And we know that many households are struggling now too. The Alabama Food Bank Associations partners with 1600 agencies around the state supporting their work to deliver food assistance directly to families.
Hurry to register before the April 20th deadline and make a difference in our future!