{"id":8357,"date":"2020-12-21T15:12:19","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/?p=8357"},"modified":"2020-12-21T15:51:18","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:51:18","slug":"giving-is-the-best-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/2020\/12\/21\/giving-is-the-best-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Is The Best Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I often say to my friends and family…Have a happy and healthy holiday season!<\/em> <\/span>I’ve always meant this sentiment, but this year it seems to have greater meaning.<\/p>\n

Today I’m more aware than ever of the needs of others — both those that were already struggling and those who’ve become food insecure due to the pandemic. It’s hard to have a happy and healthy holiday if you are struggling to feed your family.\"\"<\/p>\n

If I teach my children one thing, it will be that giving our time, our resources and our money is a gift to ourselves. <\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

Our family can’t be as generous as billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott,<\/a> however, she has inspired us to find ways to help others. In our household, we’ve been doing everything from making sandwiches for the homeless to donating to food pantries. My children have asked their friends to donate canned goods which we deliver to our area food bank. My friend, Susan, has been choosing one budget-friendly meatless meal per week and donates the cost difference to her local pantry.<\/p>\n

As part of our mission to help Americans to eat healthier, DinnerTime<\/a> supports organizations that help bring nutritional meals and habits to all members of the community.<\/p>\n

We donate to Feeding America<\/a> in honor of those DinnerTime<\/a> members who have made DinnerTime<\/a> their tool to feed their own families.\u00a0\u00a0As you plan your meals and shop for the necessary ingredients to feed your household, you will be earning nutritious meals for others!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why do we support Feeding America? Because through its affiliated food banks and food programs across the country, Feeding America serves over 46 million Americans, 12 million of whom are children and 7 million seniors. They estimate that 50 million Americans are food-insecure due to the pandemic. That\u2019s a lot of folks who experience food insecurity. According to Feeding America, food insecurity creates \u201ctrade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods.\u201d \"\"<\/p>\n

DinnerTime<\/a> helps our members eat nutritionally within a reasonable budget. By advantaging ingredients on sale at the grocery store we can recommend nutritionally balanced meals that meet health goals for under $2 a meal. In fact we have over 80,000 meal combinations that do just that!<\/p>\n

What can you do today to help reduce food insecurity in your state?<\/span><\/h4>\n

Here is a link<\/a> to find a food bank in your state.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Check out these 5 ways Feeding America encourages us to take action in the fight against hunger:<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

1.\u00a0Donate money<\/span><\/strong><\/a>: For every $1 donated, the Feeding America network of food banks secures and distributes 10 meals to people facing hunger.<\/p>\n

2. Donate food<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. Click here<\/a> to learn where you can donate in your state.<\/p>\n

3. Volunteer time<\/span><\/strong><\/a>: 51% of all food programs rely on volunteers. Include your friends and family for a more meaningful experience.<\/p>\n

4. Raise money<\/span><\/strong><\/a> in creative ways. Start a fundraiser. This a great opportunity to teach your children how to resource their efforts for a greater impact.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Raise Awareness<\/span><\/strong><\/a>: Advocate for a hunger-free America by reaching out to Congress and posting on social media.<\/p>\n

As noted by Stephanie Watson,\u00a0Executive Editor,\u00a0Harvard Women’s Health Watch<\/a>, growing evidence indicates a positive health impact on mental and physical wellbeing from volunteering one\u2019s time<\/a>. Help yourself as you help others.<\/p>\n

Join us to fight hunger in America. <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Our friends, our neighbors, our communities need our help.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I often say to my friends and family…Have a happy and healthy holiday season! I’ve always meant this sentiment, but this year it seems to have greater meaning. Today I’m more aware than ever of the needs of others —… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8357"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8389,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8357\/revisions\/8389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}