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I am always worrying if my kids are eating the right things. I take great pains to make sure they have well-balanced, healthy meals every day.
But for many families, it’s a struggle just to get food on the table! Imagine 111,000 kids in our area. Now imagine those kids not having enough to eat over the weekend. They get free or reduced breakfasts and lunches at school, but they’re on their own over the weekend. At a time when food is absolutely vital to their growth and development, they are going hungry, right here, in North Carolina.
Mix 101.5 is teaming up Thursday with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to collect money and healthy, non-perishable food to feed those kids during our Backpack Buddies Food Drive. The Food Shuttle fills up backpacks with six balanced meals and snacks and sends them home on Friday with kids who need them.
There’s been a lot of talk in the news recently about choosing schools and test scores and the like, but the real issue is making sure no child goes hungry. Grades aren’t going to mean much if all a child can think about is food and the lack of it. 
Mix 101.5 will be at Crabtree Valley Mall and Crossroads Plaza from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday. If you can’t swing by, you can donate online anytime at wralfm.com. I’ll be at Crabtree from 6 a.m. to noon. I look forward to seeing you! Thank you for caring and making a difference.
Food to donate (should be child-friendly, nonperishable, easily consumed and individual-sized)
Pop-top canned fruits and vegetables
Individual-sized breakfast items like oatmeal, cereals, and grits
Pop-top canned meats and fish
Healthy snacks: granola bars, Goldfish, dried fruit and raisins
Packaged noodles
Meat-based soups and stews
100% juice in cans, plastic bottles or boxes
Individual-sized shelf-stable milk
Do not bring
Sugary snacks such as Pop-tarts and cookies
Spam and Vienna Sausage
Soft-top applesauce, fruit, or Jello
Candy
Juice in pouches
Sugary cereals
Lynda is the mom of three and co-host of Mix 101.5 WRAL-FM's Bill & Lynda in the Morning. Find her here on Thursdays. Find her all the time on her Facebook page.
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August 23, 2012 5:17 p.m.
August 23, 2012 2:00 p.m.
We simply have to reform welfare, since the parents can't be responsible with the free money we give them.
August 23, 2012 1:02 p.m.
August 23, 2012 9:53 a.m.
August 23, 2012 8:09 a.m.
Sarah
August 23, 2012 7:15 a.m.
August 23, 2012 6:29 a.m.