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Disclosure: “This post is brought to you by “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.”

Food insecurity is an issue facing families in communities across the country, nearly one in five children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. Louisiana has the fourth highest rate of children living in poverty in the country. You might never know this because child hunger in America is often invisible, it could be friends, neighbors and even family members that are struggling with food insecurity.

There are many ways to help those in our community that struggle with food insecurity, one tangible way to make a difference is with Walmart’s “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign. Walmart is committed to providing meals to those in need and with the help of Discover, five food suppliers and Walmart customers, they hope to donate enough to help Feeding America secure 100 million meals on behalf of its member food banks across the country. As the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization, the Feeding America network provides food to more than 46 million people in communities across America. This includes the Baton Rouge Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.

Last week I had the opportunity to interview Jay Vise, Communications and Marketing Manager at Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, to discuss how the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign has benefited the food bank and the local community. Jay shared important information about the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign, as well as his thoughts on the importance of donating during the spring months when donations are usually down, and strategies for bridging the food gap children experience during the summer months.

As we approach summer, one of the greatest needs that Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana will meet is fighting summer hunger. During the school year the food bank offers an after school program, Kids Cafe, where they provide thousands of free meals to students as well as a place to study. In the summer, when school meals and those free after school meals disappear, children find themselves hungry and with few options. Second Harvest Food Bank’s summer feeding program provides meals to numerous children’s groups throughout the summer as well as supporting shelters, recovery programs and local support groups with hot meals for those in need.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Walmart is Second Harvest Food Bank’s single biggest donor and the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign offers the biggest boost and spike in support for the food bank. The “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign not only provides donations but raises awareness about the needs of food banks across America.

Friends, the most important thing I learned from talking to Jay is that the food bank needs our help! Go to your local food banks website to learn about their current needs, donate, volunteer and go to your local Walmart to make a difference in your community with the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign!

There are three easy ways to get involved and help fight hunger during the campaign:

Online Acts of Support: Generate meals for Feeding America food banks by engaging with the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign on social media: Create original content that with the hashtag #FightHunger, like, share and/or comment on campaign content and click on Walmart-provided campaign content via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For each visible online act of support, Walmart will donate the equivalent of 10 meals ($0.90) to Feeding America on behalf of member food banks, up to $1.5 million.
Purchase: Purchase participating products in Walmart stores to help provide meals those struggling with hunger. For each product purchased, the supplier will donate the equivalent of one meal ($0.09) on behalf of a Feeding America member food bank, up to applicable limits. Additionally, for every Discover card transaction made at U.S. Walmart stores and Walmart.com during the campaign period, Discover will donate the equivalent of one meal ($0.09) to Feeding America and its network of member food banks, up to $1 million. See Walmart.com/fighthunger for further details.
Donate at the Register: Donate to a Feeding America food bank at the register during checkout.

The campaign will run online and in all U.S. Walmart stores through May 15, 2017. To kick off the campaign, Walmart will make an initial donation of $1.5 million to Feeding America. Based on the public’s social engagement, they aim to reach a total donation of $3 million.

I’m a huge fan of the work being done at our local food banks in partnership with Walmart, I encourage you to join us to “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” — to help our local Feeding America food banks support those struggling with hunger.

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I am hungry.

Not in a figurative sense. Not hungry for a new pair of shoes or hungry to achieve a new milestone in my career.

I am literally hungry. My stomach feels empty more than it feels full these days and my fridge and pantry are so bare it seems that they are taunting me each time I open them to inspect their contents. I save all non-meal food items for my kids because even though I am nursing a baby and need the nutrients, I can’t stand to hear the tiny voices of my children every time they go to the cupboard only to discover there’s nothing there to eat.

I hope that they don’t remember this. I pray that, instead, they remember the laughter we have shared as I try to distract them from their desire for food. I hope that they forget the tears that fill my eyes at the thought of their tummies growling, but remember the smile on my face as we have dance parties in the living room to Taylor Swift.

I don’t even know how we got here. It all happened so fast, when just months ago the thought of going without food seemed like something that could never happen to me. We work hard, we love Jesus and we serve Him to the best of our abilities. It’s crazy how one decision made even with the best of intentions can alter the course of your life in ways you never imagined. It’s eye-opening the compassion you can express for others when you are walking through a situation you could’ve never thought you’d find yourself in.

Lately, when we do get to buy groceries, it’s only the bare necessities. I hate that I fuss at the kids the minute they run to the pantry or to the fridge for a snack because they want to sample all the food they haven’t seen in days, but I know the sooner they eat it, the sooner it’s gone. And when it’s gone, I have to hear them cry about their hunger, and it kills me.

How do you explain rations to small children? How do you tell them “If you eat this now, you will be hungry later?” How do you live with yourself as a mother when you’re digging sugar soaked fruit out of a donated can from the food pantry to feed it to your children for lunch and they beg for more but it’s all you have?

I try to thank the Lord for His provision. I try to smile while I shop at the store while I furiously calculate every penny we are spending and simultaneously determine if we will be able to keep our water running once I buy these items. I try not to cry when a friend orders us a pizza for dinner because she knows otherwise we would not have anything to eat.

I try not to hate politicians who say that people like me should be drug tested when we are already living in overwhelming grief and humiliation. I try not to be offended by fellow church members and Christians who want to withhold government programs that we need just to survive. I try not to resent my husband- who works tirelessly and without complaint, often three jobs at once- for us being in this position.

I try to understand what it’s like for other moms who never get a reprieve from this reality. I try to imagine what it’s like for families who don’t have electricity or comfortable beds or adequate shelter. I try not to get angry at those who have excessive amounts of money but want to hold on to it for dear life, because they somehow deserve it more than I do. More than my kids do.

I try to keep it together and to put on a happy face for those around me, but most of all for my kids. The hunger pangs screaming from within my hollow stomach burn so strong that they turn me into a person I don’t like, a mother I don’t recognize. I try so hard to be what they need me to be, but…

I am hungry.

The above is written anonymously by a fellow Baton Rouge mom, a mom living in our community, this mom could be anyone’s neighbor. Hunger is everywhere: It’s in every community, it can also be invisible. Some 47 million Americans live in poverty. All told, 17.5 million households and 16 million children—one out of every five—struggle with hunger. Visit the Baton Rouge Food Bank to learn how you can help those hungry in our community.