No Kid Hungry Reaches Thousands at National Day of Service

Thousands of volunteers from around the nation flocked to the National Mall in Washington Saturday to be a part of the Inaugural Weekend Day Of Service event. The No Kid Hungry campaign was proud to be one of seven nonprofits featured at the event, chosen to represent economic development in low-income communities across America.

President Barack Obama created the tradition of hosting a National Day of Service as part of Inauguration festivities in 2009. The day honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and gives Americans the chance to commit to making a difference in their communities for the next year.

Participants in the festivities took the No Kid Hungry pledge, making a commitment to fight to end childhood hunger in their communities. Hundreds learned about the nutrition education work done through No Kid Hungry’s Cooking Matters campaign by taking mini-Shopping Matters tours through our on-site mock grocery store. Shopping Matters is a free, guided grocery store tour which empowers low-income families with the skills to get the most nutrition for their food dollars.

“We are so excited to have been featured at this National Day of Service event,” said Josh Wachs, chief strategy officer for Share Our Strength. “It was really inspiring to look out into the crowd and see so many Americans passionate about helping others and wanting to do their part to end childhood hunger in this nation.”

Chelsea Clinton kicked off the event with inspiring remarks for the crowd of volunteers before making her way to the No Kid Hungry service area. She participated in the “fruits and vegetables” segment of the shopping tour, learning tips on how to teach families about the health benefits of frozen vegetables and comparing unit prices for canned vegetables.

Also among the many other people taking time to learn about the No Kid Hungry campaign were Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Miss America Mallory Hagan, Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank, and Shellie Pfohl from the President’s Council on Fitness and Nutrition.

No child should grow up hungry in America, but one in five children struggles with hunger. Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in this nation by connecting kids in need with nutritious food and teaching families how to cook healthy, affordable meals. You can help surround kids with the nutritious food they need where they live, learn and play.