Danielle
Brofman

Hi Friends,

I have been running quite a bit in the recent months, and I thought it would be worthwhile to combine my efforts with donating to a cause that's important to thousands of people, especially right now: food insecurity and hunger.  More than 1.1 million people in the 18 southeast Texas counties served by Houston Food Bank are considered food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough nutritious food to fuel a healthy life. In order to address this issue, the Houston Food Bank distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a network of 1,500 community partners.  In addition, more than one in four of those going hungry are children. 

I will never forget my first visit to the Houston Food Bank.  Our group was prepping food for backpacks for children, as so many school kids depend on our school systems to meet their most basic need of eating every day.  During the weekends and summers, the food bank helps to fill the voids kids would otherwise have in receiving meals.  Before we started our volunteer day, our lead shared a story from a local teacher.  While the kids in her first grade class were returning from lunch one Friday afternoon and getting settled into their seats, she noticed that one of the kids had a red liquidy substance dripping down the side of her pants, and called the girl over.  When questioned about it, the little girl confessed that she had stuffed leftover spaghetti from lunch into her pockets to take home to share with her older brother for later that weekend.  They wouldn't be eating without it.  My heart breaks into a thousand pieces to this day thinking about any child having to worry about something like where their next meal will come from. 

With the current unemployment rates and medical issues facing our country, as well as the severely taxed public services taking on much higher traffic, the number of people going hungry has exponentially increased.  I know that not everyone is in a position to give right now, but if you are, please consider supporting my run to raise money for the Houston Food Bank.  A little can mean so much.

With much gratitude,

Danielle