Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Last weekend was full of fun, learning and inspiration  with bloggers from Arkansas,Missouri,Oklahoma, Texas and even one from Nevada attending

 Foodie Friday and the Megaphone Conference in Fayetteville.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to meet  homemade bread  entrepreneur

 and business woman Patricia Barnes, better known as "Sister Schubert"

 and learn  the  secret of making the best bread pudding,

to receive an overwhelming amount of

 social media and blogging information

and 

                                           to find a little milk from  down on the dairy farm.
                                               

Funnel Fun

                                                  Have you been to a Feed the Funnel Party?

 If not, you really need to put this on the top of your bucket list, especially if you want to make a difference in the fight against hunger. The Pack Shack of Northwest Arkansas provided the opportunity to feed the funnel and pack meals during the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference this past weekend.

After removing loose jewelry, washing our hands and donning hairnets and gloves, we were assigned to stations on an assembly line to measure,funnel and seal a  bag of  ingredients.  Bags of  Cheesy Rice and Vegetable Soup were carefully boxed for distribution  to our hungry Arkansas neighbors in  Hot Springs and Siloam Springs. With a lot of loud music, unbelievable dance moves from several of our rock star women and organized  assembly  labor,  we packed 10,300 meals in just a little over an hour.

Unfortunately, hunger affects all people  and all ages in the United States. Food insecurity  is defined by the United State Department of Agriculture as the measure of lack of success, at times, to have enough food for an active,healthy life for all household members or the uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate food. Sadly, food insecurity exists in every county in the United States. 

 Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap 2015 Study states:

•  49 million Americans are food insecure
• 1 in six Americans are hungry
• 1 in 5 children are hungry

Arkansas has more than 200,000 children that are considered food insecure. That is reason enough to have Fun at the Funnel!

I challenge you during the month of September--Hunger Action Month--to Feed the Funnel or participate in other activities  in your community to fight against hunger.