This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Albertsons Companies & Hunger Is. The opinions and text are all mine.
There are many issues and causes that are important to me as a Latina mother. That said, there is one that really hits close to home and which I want to talk about today. The issue is hunger – specifically childhood hunger.
I grew up on a small ranch in a small town in Mexico. We had a very humble home, but we always had a great time spending time with family and close friends. Even though there are many parts of my childhood that I remember fondly, there is one part that is difficult to think about. My mom and dad both worked so hard and did everything that they could to put food on the table so that my siblings and I had something to eat. I remember that there were days when my mom would go out and sell products all day just so we could eat that night. I will always love and appreciate my parents for everything that they did for us so that we did not have to suffer.
Although we always seemed to have something to eat, there were days when that was just tortillas and eggs, or other simple things that were just enough to keep us from being too hungry. Nevertheless, in comparison to some of the people that lived near me, we were eating like royalty. I had friends and cousins that truly did suffer and had to go without food at times. It was sad for me to watch, but it was just our reality at that point in my life. Looking back it is even more sad to think about that and to see people that still do not have enough food for their families today.
I feel extremely blessed for the situation in which I find myself today and that I have never had to worry about whether my two little boys would have something to eat. With that said, I know that there are lots of little boys and girls that are no so blessed, and that breaks my heart.
Did you know that 3 out of 5 K-8 public school teachers report regularly seeing students coming to school hungry? This needs to stop and I really hope to be able to see the end of childhood hunger at some point in my lifetime.
Fortunately we live in a time where we have so many opportunities to give back and help those in need. That is one of the reasons why I want to let all of you know about an amazing campaign that anyone can participate in. Here in Denver, Safeway and Albertsons are currently participating in a campaign called “Hunger-Is.” Hunger Is focuses on expanding breakfast programs and providing children with healthy start to their day. This is so important, because no child should have to go hungry.
There are a couple of ways to participate in this program:
- Purchase participating items. You can look for tags on participating items in store.*
- Donate at the register – shoppers can add a $1, $3, or $5, or any $ amount to their purchase.
When I found out about this, I went to my local Safeway and purchased a few participating items, like the ones below.
I am definitely going to make a point to buy my groceries at Safeway while this campaign is going on (from September 1 – September 30, 2016).
I really am grateful for the opportunity to help fight back against hunger in any way and I hope that you will join me in this amazing cause.
*Purchase of particpating items in September 2016 will trigger at least $0.10 donation up to $1 million
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Albertsons Companies & Hunger Is. The opinions and text are all mine.