President Obama has declared this week, and every second week of October henceforth, as National School Lunch Week. In his proclamation, the President states, “Every young American deserves access to a wholesome, nutritious lunch. These meals prevent hunger and give our children the energy and nourishment they need to grow into healthy, productive adults.”

The National School Lunch Act was passed in 1946, marking the official beginning of the program we know today, but the program has its roots much earlier in history. It was the Great Depression of the 1930s and resulting widespread unemployment and threat of child malnutrition that spurred Congress to make funds available to help children unable to pay for lunches at school. In March of 1937, there were 342,000 children receiving school lunch commodities; today, the National School Lunch Program serves 31 million children.

We know that hungry children can’t learn or grow. Thankfully, the National School Lunch Program is providing wholesome meals to children, ensuring that children across America have the nourishment they need to thrive.

The tsunami in American Samoa, earthquake in Indonesia, and tropical storm in the Philippines have caused untold damage. In American Samoa, there have been 33 confirmed fatalities and approximately 450 families are being supported by 14 shelters and 9 feeding centers. In Indonesia, The United Nations has said that at least 1,100 people were killed in the disaster, but estimates of the final toll range up to 5,000. In the Philippines, much of Manila remains underwater, hundreds are dead, and half a million people displaced after a tropical storm and a typhoon devastated the area.

Feed The Children’s disaster services team is hard at work. Through strong partnerships with allied organizations active in disaster relief and the support of generous donors, Feed The Children is able to provide supplies to victims quickly and effectively. Currently, 52 pallets of emergency supplies are in route to California and will be loaded onto container ships on Wednesday for delivery to American Samoa. We are working on securing an air carrier that will ship an initial load of more than 2,300 tents to Indonesia. We have also made available disaster relief supplies to Operation Compassion, who will be transporting 2 containers of tents and sleeping bags to the Philippines and is working on a third to Indonesia.