Amber and Adrianne
Posted by Katherine Van Steenburgh on Thursday, July 14, 2011
Editor’s Note: All summer, Share Our Strength staff will be visiting summer meals sites across the country to show our work in action. This post is part of that series. To learn more about Summer Meals, visit strength.org/summer.
Do you know anyone with that contagious flicker in their eye? In New Mexico last week I had the opportunity to meet two sisters that both have that infectious glow and energy. They are full of life and spunk, and I wish everyone reading this (and everyone really) could meet Amber and Adrianne and witness their spark and their story.
On the New Mexico leg of the summer meals road trip, we traveled to Moriarty, New Mexico to visit one of the summer meals sites that Share Our Strength supported this summer through our summer mini-grants. Picture dry, flat desert and dusty fields filled with trailers. Nothing for miles.
As we drove down the long dusty road towards the Water Tower (where lunch is served), we could see from a distance a bright splotch of red, standing out against the gray, yellow desert fields. In the middle of this forgotten plain there is a community of families there, including Amber, Adrianne, and their father, Aaron.
Through NKH mini-grants, Share Our Strength provided the big bright red umbrella and a table so that kids can come to the Water Tower and have lunch every day- in the shade (much needed protection from the hot New Mexico sun). This area has been greatly affected by the drought this year in New Mexico and many families there face hunger and poverty. Most of the kids we met rely on the lunches from this summer sites as their primary source of nutrition. Amber and Adrianne told us that at the end of the month, things can be tight and they need the summer lunches. Adrianne spoke very openly to us and shared how thankful she is for the summer lunches because she knows it takes a burden off of her father (a single dad raising two girls). Summer lunches across the United States are helping families that struggle in the summer months to have enough each day.
Share Our Strength is able to support summer meals in Moriarty, New Mexico and across the country through the work of the No Kid Hungry partnership; I hope that we will be able to do even more soon. Have you met kids like Amber and Adrianne who have affected you and made you more committed to ending hunger? Share your story with us here or on our Facebook wall.
RELATED LINKS:
— Learn more about Share Our Strength’s Summer Meals work
— Help Support Summer Meals Work
July 14, 2011 | 2 comment(s) | Tags: new mexico, summer meals
Comments
2 reader comments so far.
Thank you to the Share Our Strength "delegation" (Thank you to Susan, Katherine, and Meghann) and the photographers (Lindsay and Alice) for telling our story. Their genuine care and concern for the children in our community was palpable. It was my privilege to share their visit with our community. Their passion for the children they meet was a great source of encouragement, and their enthusiasm for the program is an inspiration. Thank you for being the "bright spot" - through the "umbrella grant" and through your commitment to excellence. Your efforts are making a difference!
Posted by Cindy on July 14, 2011
It is truly a blessing to have a wife like Maribel, who began cooking 550 burritos, and more each day as needs increase, then meets the chidren and distributes the food to them in Moriarty. She shares this opportunity with coworkers Teresa, Bertha, Andrea and Monica who help cover Edgewood and Estancia as well. When she returns home from cooking, loading and unloading in the heat of the day, she can't wait to tell me about the children she met, and the kisses, hugs and smiles that she will likely never forget. Thank you so much for providing this opportunity to our very small spot in the southwestern USA.
Posted by Ralph on July 16, 2011
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