Toni's Kitchen, a food ministry of St. Luke's Church in Montclair, launches a week-long hunger awareness campaign with an online fundraiser to support local families. The campaign, dubbed “Neighbors feeding Neighbors”, is part of Food Day, a growing national movement to improve nutrition and food policy.
Beginning on October 24th, the Neighbors Feeding Neighbors campaign will raise awareness of food need locally and engage the community to improve nutritional health in families. Throughout the week of October 24, residents will be invited to donate $12 online, which provides a backpack of healthy food to a local family. The goal is to use small, individual donations to fill 150 backpacks while letting the community know about the hidden nature of food need in suburban communities.
The Healthy Backpack Program at Toni's Kitchen feeds over 200 local children every week. Children attending tutoring, mentoring or other supportive programs leave with a backpack of healthy foods - tuna, peanut butter, rice, beans, fruit, oatmeal. Each week, the empty backpack is returned and another picked up by the child. Toni's Kitchen also includes fresh produce in a separate bag for most of the families that receive these backpacks.
"The issue of hunger can seem insurmountable," says Anne Mernin, the Director of Toni's Kitchen. "In fact, some small steps can be taken to ensure that our kids regularly have healthy food in their homes. This is doable."
To participate in the Neighbors Feeding Neighbors/Food Day initiative go to www.toniskitchen.org or visit their Facebook page to learn more.
