Hello Friend,
This is Tamara, the Director of Hunger Free America’s National Hunger Hotline. Every day, we receive calls from Americans across the country who urgently need help feeding their families.
In the last year, I have personally experienced the non-stop ringing of our phone lines due to the pandemic. As schools let out for the summer, we’re now handling an influx of calls from families worried about feeding their children without the vital school meals on which they rely.
Just yesterday, I spoke to a grandmother whose grandson was scheduled to visit for the summer, after being separated for a year due to COVID. She was worried because she couldn’t afford to feed a growing boy for the summer. We connected her to Summer Meals sites in her community where her grandson can get free, healthy meals.
This grandmother was elated to be able to afford to feed and spend time with her grandson. Won’t you help us make sure that every child has enough to eat this summer?
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Hunger Free America runs the Hunger Hotline on behalf of the USDA to connect families to emergency food providers in their communities and government food programs. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, we have seen our call volume increase 300% -- and our staff are struggling to keep up with the demand. Parents are facing difficult decisions this summer as they try to hold onto their paychecks and care for their children.
One mom recently called the Hotline because she was having to take two hours off of work each day to make the round-trip drive to the closest Summer Meals site in order to get nutritious meals for her children. Hotline staff jumped into action to help her find Summer Meals sites that had a “grab and go” model that would allow her to pick up multiple meals at once. Her children will have the food they need, and she won’t have to lose pay to take care of her family.
These are just two of the thousands of heart-breaking calls we receive each month. We answer each call with detailed and compassionate assistance because on the other end of the line is a family who may not eat that day if not for us.
Please donate to Hunger Free America today so that we can continue to connect families to food this summer. Together we can give kids a hunger free summer.
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Thank you,
Tamara Mizhquiri
Director, National Hunger Hotline
PS: Know a family who needs help getting food? Please share our number!
1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (for Spanish)
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