I have been lamenting about summer and all the stress that comes along with it.
Everyone Some people might even say I am whining a bit about it. And you know what, I was. Oh, the time, the togetherness, what will I do with all of it? Woe is me, the stay-at-home mom who needs to keep her girls occupied for two and a half months with fun activities like swimming and camps and outings with friends. I know, cry me a river, right? I get it. It sounds so entitled. Not because I don’t think that I have the right to complain, if you read this blog, you know I do, but because I was served up a reminder of what summer could mean for my children. And it brought me up short.
I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Scary Mommy, when I saw this post about an organization she has created to help families. It is called Scary Mommy Nation, and The Dose of Reality is going to be a part of it. It was this part of the blog entry that really got me:
Building on that outpouring of support, Scary Mommy Nation will continue to foster an online grassroots movement of mothers helping other mothers feed their families. Scary Mommy Nation will focus on two times of the year when the pressures of providing food are particularly difficult: Thanksgiving and during summer break, when many school lunch programs are put on hold and parents who depend on these programs are left to fend for themselves.
School lunches, y’all. Who knew? These mothers won’t be complaining during the summer because they have one more meal to work into the daily routine, one more set of dishes to wash, more picky eaters to please. No, they will simply be trying to figure out where the food will even come from. It makes me want to sob. I cannot even imagine having to add into my daily reality the idea that one of my children’s main meals would have to come at school and then to try to factor in what that would mean for an entire summer.
Reading the post on Scary Mommy made me realize that I want to help. But what could I do? The problem seems so overwhelming and widespread, and I am just one person. Certainly I can and will give money to this wonderful cause, but I also want to lend my voice, the voice behind this blog to make a difference. I have said it before, I know, but it takes a village, and readers, we are the village. So let us all do what we can to make summer a little easier for other mommies. Please click on this link to donate to Scary Mommy Nation directly or go ahead and set a date to take some extra canned goods to your local food pantry this summer (in fact, what a great activity to do with your children). Let us all make sure no child goes hungry this summer.
Perspective: It’s what’s for lunch.
Don't let her go hungry this summer.
Thanks for posting this. It certainly brings it into perspective. I have a child who has plenty to eat but who I also have to often bargain with to get her to eat the food she has. I think we will definitely be talking about this and making a trip to the food pantry this summer.
Hey-that could even be a good summer activity.
I am definitely going to make it one of our summer activities. I am also going to talk about the fact that we are sharing food with people who don’t have any as a reminder that my children should be grateful for the food they have.
In many areas of Idaho, there’s a program that feeds kids lunch and dinner at local parks. There’s no qualifying for it either. If people take advantage of that they can have 2 meals a day for children 1-18. I wonder if other states have implemented anything like this?
I hope so Trina, because that sounds like an excellent program. Thank you for sharing it with me. I am glad to know about it.
Great idea, Ash! I will definitely be doing this for my community - and since my child is no longer really at home full-time, I’m not sure I would have thought of something like this. We used to always hear about things like this when our children are still in school, but once they graduate and move on, it is nice to rely on those still in the mix to inform all of us about this great cause. Good job!
Thank you so much. I think it is important to think about these things, especially at times of the year when it is not the most obvious.
What a different point of view this offers your readers - thanks!
You are welcome!
It is sad to think that so many children don’t eat very well at home. This is why schools offer breakfast and lunch assistance programs. In the township that I teach in there will be lunch programs offered over the summer so children can come and get good healthy lunches.
I am just so glad to know this Erin. Thank you so much for sharing it! It honestly makes me feel better to know that school systems are looking out for children in need during the summer, too.
I read Scary Mommy from time to time too and had no clue that she as doing this. I definitely want to be a part. Thanks for putting this into perspective!
You are so welcome. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading and taking the time to leave a comment.
We got a flyer home from school just yesterday about free lunches being offered throughout the summer in our area at Olympic High School. It’s not something that ever would have occurred to me until I got that flyer. I’m really glad CMS is doing something like this.
Thank you Kim. It really warms my heart to know that the school system here is doing that.
This is wonderful! I think it is a great weekly summer activity!!!!
ok, so I know I’m a year late, but I had NO IDEA that some kids go hungry in the summer because of no school lunch….no CLUE….I’m sitting here bawling, thinking of those hungry kids….I’m going to look into what our local community does to help those kids in need and get involved!! thank you for making me aware!!!