It’s so hard to focus when you’re distracted, out of sorts, tired, sick … or hungry.

Have you ever been so hungry that you just couldn’t think?

So hungry that you couldn’t focus?

So hungry that you just couldn’t finish the task in front of you?

Today – on #GivingTuesday – I want to tell you a story.

It’s the story of a young school girl, let’s call her Suzie. Suzie lives in an average American home. Money is tight at her house. So tight, in fact, that she often – more often than not – goes to school without breakfast. She’s so hungry that she can’t even focus on her learning until after lunch – when she finally gets some yummy food in that tiny little belly of hers. After lunch she smiles, holds her head up high, skips, and magically has the pep and energy that all of the other little girls have. But tomorrow morning, she’s once again sluggish, moody, glum. She can’t answer questions when she’s called on. She doesn’t pay attention, stares out the window, and looks up at me with haunting eyes. Until after lunch. Then, thankfully, she’s back again, that precious little girl with the big smile and the round eyes so full of curiosity and a precocious desire to learn.

Why does she have to live on a constant merry-go-round cycle of hunger and happiness?

Hunger is an epidemic … one that’s hitting home right here in the U.S.

It prevents kids in America from reaching their full potential – Every. Single. Day.

Are you aware that almost half of all the people in America who utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – or Food Stamps) are children.

Children!

They go to school hungry, they go to the day care ravenous, they go to the playground on empty stomachs.

More than 16 million KIDS in America live in homes that struggle to put food on the table.

16 million! 

Um … that’s 1 out of 5 children in America.

Twenty percent!

It gets worse. During the summer months, only 1 out of every 7 children who received assisted lunches during the school year, receive assisted meals.

So what do they do during the summer? Starve? Suffer? Fall further behind developmentally?

On an average school day, almost 10 million kids get a free or reduced breakfast to help them start their day off right – that’s a beautiful thing!

But, still yet, another 10.6 million kids, who are eligible, don’t get this same chance at a healthy breakfast.

Why??

It comes down to one thing – not enough money.

These 10.6 million kids start their school day – hungry – just like Suzie.

Did you also know that 9 out of 10 educators say that starting the day with a healthy breakfast is the key to succeeding with academic achievements in school.

But what can we do? This is a government problem, right?

Wrong!

Today, on Tuesday, December 2nd, as a part of #GivingTuesday, No Kid Hungry is trying to raise $50,000 dollars towards feeding America’s kids.

And a beautiful thing is about to happen – Hickory Farms will match those dollars, to make it 100,000 gorgeous dollars!

It’s not just a school issue. It’s not just someone else’s problem.

Hunger in childhood has been linked to significant health problems as adults.

The ironic thing about this epidemic – it’s actually one we can solve.

Let’s work together today to put food in those hungry little bellies – and to put a bright smile on little Suzie’s face first thing every morning!

Go here to Donate or to find out more about #GivingTuesday and #NoKidHungry. But do it now – because Giving Tuesday only comes once each year and every dollar donated today is a dollar doubled (thanks to the generosity of Hickory Farms)!

If you can’t donate your dollars today, could you spare a moment or two to spread the message via your social media channels? Easy clickable Twitter and Facebook posts can be found right here.

Bless you!