Rachael Ray's Non-profit Organization Yum-o!

In the small town of Clyde, TX, where most of the population live at or below the poverty level, the Backpacks for Kids program is making a difference. The program identifies food insecure kids with the help of their school system and discreetly delivers a backpack of food full of nutritious, kid-friendly, non-perishable items to these children each Friday. Rachel Laughlin connected with the Food Bank of West Central Texas in 2008 to start the program in Clyde; as of 2009, the overall program serves over 550 children at 23 locations in west Texas.

Read more about this program and how it's changing the lives of Texas children.

Pamela Green Jackson formed the Youth Becoming Healthy Project (YBH) to educate school students about the importance of eating healthy and exercising. The program converts vacant classrooms into fitness centers, and offers free fitness and nutrition education, personal trainers, fitness competitions and goal-setting exercises to enable students to set and achieve their own goals. Since 2004, YBH has improved the lives of thousands of children.

Find out more about the Youth Becoming Healthy Project and how you can start a similar program in your schools!

After volunteering with his mother at their local food bank, 10-year-old Brian Furrer from Lincoln, CA saw how quickly the food was running out and decided to organize a week-long food drive to help restock the shelves.

Read Brian's story and learn how you can find a food bank to volunteer with in your community! 

Kidsgardening, a core program of the National Gardening Association, has been using gardening as a vehicle for encouraging children to make better food choices for over 25 years!

Learn how your school can access tools, resources, grants and more to use youth gardening as a tool to teach students about food, cooking, healthy eating and getting active!

When Katie Stagliano grew a 40 pound cabbage (yes, you read that right!), she didn't know that she was beginning to cultivate a dream as well. After donating her harvest to local food agencies, the 10-year-old from Summerville, SC was inspired to take action to help hungry children and to teach other children how to get involved.

Read Katie's inspiring story and learn how you can get involved in your community or school!