One in five children in America live with hunger. Some children miss meals and are faced with daily uncertainty about food as their parents try and balance buying groceries and paying bills. The Ripon Area School District provides breakfast free to all of its students every day, however lunch must be purchased. While the district does offer free and reduced cost lunches to low-income families, the SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital Mission Action Team wants to help continue to support the students ensuring no child goes hungry. School lunch is critical to student health and well-being it ensures they have the nutrition they need throughout the day to learn and grow. Research shows that receiving free or reduced cost lunches reduces food insecurity, obesity rates, and poor health. It also has a positive impact on student food selection and consumption, especially for fruits and vegetables. Coin collection canisters will be present in Ripon Community Hospital departments from October 15 – November 15 to help raise money for this cause.
