This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

"One Kid Can!" Toolkit Helps Kids and Teens Make a Difference

RI Community Food Bank releases 20-page “Food and Fun Drive” booklet during Hunger Action Month

Noah Strunin, age 7, will design a chalk drawing on your driveway if you’ll donate a few cans of food to the hungry. Catherine Amoriggi, age 16, is creating a wall calendar featuring her own recipes as a fundraiser for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. These young Rhode Islanders – and many more like them – have decided to do something about the issue of hunger.

Now, kids and teens who want to make a difference in their community have a free resource to help them get started. This September, during Hunger Action Month, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank has released “One Kid Can! Helping the Hungry: A Toolkit for Kids and Young Adults.” The 20-page booklet contains dozens of ideas organized by age group, along with tools and helpful hints for conducting food and “fun” drives.

Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To download a free copy of the booklet, visit www.rifoodbank.org/HungerActionMonth or contact Cindy Elder at celder@rifoodbank.org or 401-230-1674. Printed copies can be obtained at the Food Bank’s facility at 200 Niantic Avenue, Providence. The Food Bank is open weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm.

“We’ve been touched and impressed by the young people who have approached us with their creative ideas to help Rhode Islanders suffering from hunger,” says Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “One Kid Can! showcases many of their great work, along with a range of projects we developed for all ages, from preschool to high school and beyond.”

Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Although hunger is a year-round issue, it takes the spotlight in September during Hunger Action Month. Nationally, more than 50 million people struggle with hunger, including 16.7 million children. In Rhode Island, the Food Bank’s network of food pantries and meal sites serves more than 68,000 people each month. One in three is a child under the age of 18.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is a non-profit organization located in Providence, RI. The Food Bank solicits, stores and distributes food products donated by supermarkets, wholesalers, food processors, local farmers and community food drives. The food is then distributed to the Food Bank’s statewide network of 238 sites operated by its 178 member agencies. In the past fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 9.75 million pounds of food. For more information about the Food Bank, please visit www.rifoodbank.org.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?