If you ask staff members at local food banks how many children in the Valley go hungry, their answer may surprise you.
Andy Souza said, "Right now within the three counties that we serve: Fresno, Madera, and Kings counties we have probably about 100 to 110 thousand kids that are at risk of going hungry every other day that number certainly goes up in the summer when there's not the free and reduced lunches that are happening at the school."
Now thanks to a $40 thousand donation being wheeled in from Food 4 Less, more kids will eat this summer.
Sandy Beals said, "The kids get so excited when they open up the bag you would think it was Christmas... yay! We're going to have a good dinner tonight."
Sandy Beals with Tulare County's Foodlink says well-fed kids do better at school.
"It's a lot of food so it's really going to be huge," Beals said. "We are looking at kids going back to school pretty soon so they need a good healthy diet to learn."
Mac and cheese, dry cereals, rice, and canned vegetables, those are just are just a few of the donated staples. Five Valley food banks will split up the bounty including Madera County's food bank.
Ryan McWherter said, "We don't have a big town we don't have, it's really hard right now to feed as many as we are feeding off the people who are giving."
Food bank workers told Action News, one semi-truck filled with food contains about 30 thousand meals.
Visit the following websites for more information:
https://sites.google.com/site/maderacountyfoodbank/food-bank-programs
http://mercedcountyfoodbank.com/MercedCountyFoodBank/Welcome.html
