Every Kid Deserves an After School Snack #SIMPLEGiving

I participated in this program on behalf of Champions for Kids and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.I love picking my kiddos up from school everyday. I love seeing their smiling faces greeting me and hearing their stories of everything they did at school that day. But I think that their favorite part of our after-school ritual is getting their after-school snack. What kid doesn’t love an after-school snack? Unfortunately, not every kid who wants an after-school snack gets one. About 16 million American children live in poverty and many of these kids do not have reliable access to the nutritious snacks that help them thrive and succeed both in school and in life.

I am sure you have participated in many food drives but maybe you only considered donating meal items. I know I usually donate items that would work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but I have not ever really considered donating snack items. But throughout the month of August, Champions for Kids is partnering with Dole to encourage community projects that will benefit children in need. Called SIMPLE Service Projects, the idea is to host or organize a community event to collect snack food items to donate to a local organization that serves children in need, such as a food pantry, after-school program, or daycare center.

Champions for Kids and Dole have a great suggestion on how to gather those snack food items. Most kids are part of a sports team, church group, or even a group of neighborhood kids. Why not gather that group and have them bring snack food items to their next game, outing, or event? My kiddos and I recently met up with some friends at the park to play. We brought some healthy and tasty snack food items including Dole Fruit Bowls and Dole Fruit Squish’ems. Before the kids ran off to have fun we stacked up our snack food donations and snapped the picture you see at the top of this post. The kids felt great that they were helping other children be able to enjoy an after-school snack.

The day after gathering the snack food donations, my kiddos and I stopped by our local Boys and Girls Club and donated the items to some very happy children.

Here are some easy to follow steps to set up your own project (from Champions for Kids):

1. GATHER your family, friends, and neighbors for a game day food drive. You could ask the other parents on your child’s team to bring extra snacks to donate after a game, or even organize a family field day in the park. Ask guests to bring nutritious snacks, such as Dole Fruit Bowls and Fruit Squish’ems, to donate as their “ticket!”

2. LEARN about the organizations that fight hunger in your community. What items do they need the most? How can you share your time and resources to make a difference and teach your family about the importance of giving back?

3. GIVE the items you collect to a local food pantry, food bank, after-school program, or community organization.

4. SHARE your project at championsforkids.org/share. How many people were involved, and how many items did you collect?  Please let us know that you are one of millions who are helping give kids the resources they need to thrive! Also share on social media using #SIMPLEGiving.

Another way to get involved!

Take part in Champions for Kids’ SIMPLE Giving program this summer! Visit your participating Walmart store between August 4 – August 18 and look for the purple product display and donation bin. Choose back-to-school snacks and donate them right inside the store to help children in your local community!

This is really a fantastic program and I hope you will get your family involved and make a difference for kids this month. It is fun, teaches your kids to give and serve, and helps children in need.

So what do you say?  Are you game?