This Monday night, September 30, marked the third annual benefit dinner for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign in Portland, Oregon at Irving Street Kitchen. Over one hundred people attended to show their support for the campaign, including several local chefs and actor/singer Rita Wilson. Integrative Nutrition was very proud to sponsor and attend the event this year to help end hunger for children in America, a cause that aligns with our mission to spread health and happiness worldwide.

Right now, one in five children in The United States is hungry. The free school meal program instated at most public schools is wildly underutilized. Children miss breakfast served in the cafeteria when their school bus is late or they want to avoid the stigma that goes along with leaving their friends in the morning for a free meal. In the summer, free lunch is available to these children every day, yet only 13% of children eligible for the program receive their daily meals.

Share Our Strength hopes to change these statics, and Integrative Nutrition is ready to help! We donated a full scholarship as well as a Breville Juicer to be auctioned off at the dinner, which helped raise almost $2,000 for the cause. In addition to our contribution, there were several other auction items, such as a trip to the TriBeCa Film festival and even a walk on role on the hit show Portlandia that raised tremendous amounts of money and awareness for the No Child Hungry campaign.

Our hope is that if more people are educated about health and nutrition, they will be able to help those in need in their community find nutritious food options. This will end hunger in America. So many of our students and graduates go into their communities and donate their time to teach families how to cook cheap and nutritious meals, grow their own food, or shop for the healthiest groceries that will feed their family all week. It truly is spreading the ripple effect of health and wellness at its finest!

For more information on Share Our Strength, and to learn how you can get involved with their organization visit their No Kid Hungry website. You can also give us a call to find out more about how you can use your education from Integrative Nutrition to help those in need right in your own community!