In the shadow of the Capitol Building, a national symbol of liberty, justice, and equality, more than 25% of children live in poverty. Although these statistics are startling, the most recently available data is from 2008, so it doesn’t fully account for the impact of the current economic recession. That means that things are worse—and getting worse every day.
Ed Lazere, Executive Director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute told the New York Times, “It’s been a familiar but depressing story of the only people benefiting in the city’s economy are those with the most education.”
Therefore, one of the keys to ending the cycle of hunger and poverty is education. That’s why Feed The Children is responding by partnering with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) to provide the District of Columbia Public Schools with needed backpacks, books, and food through our Homeless Education and Literacy Program (HELP). HELP’s goal is to ensure that students have the tools they need to do well in school. Therefore, by sending trucks filled with school supplies to children in DC, we’re feeding not just their minds, but their futures—and contributing to the end of hunger in our nation’s capital.
