In September, Mission Ambassador Nadia organized a packing event in support of Hunger Action Month. Munster High School’s varsity cheer and football teams came together for a day of service, packing 214 bags of food that were donated to Harding Elementary School in Hammond, Indiana.

With Nadia’s leadership, the teams worked hard to ensure that students at Harding will have food for the weekends. This event was a great reminder of the impact a community can have when they join together to support local children in need.

Food is a basic human right, and I have worried about the negative impact hunger has on our youth since I was a kid. As I got older, I felt a calling to join the hunger fight.

During Hunger Action Month in September, as an Ambassador for Blessings in a Backpack and varsity cheer Captain, I felt a responsibility as a leader to address food insecurity in my community. For a second year, I organized our spirit program food drive, collecting non-perishable items at school throughout the month and taking donations at our homecoming game.  With the support of my coach, teammates, and community, we collected and donated 723 pounds of food to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.

Donating our collected food drive items was a great way to give back, but I knew we had the power as a team to make a greater impact. I wanted us to do more. Through a food grant provided by Blessings in a Backpack, I organized a day of service in which our varsity cheer and varsity football team joined forces to pack 214 food bags and hand-write encouragement cards. The food bags were donated to one of our local elementary schools.

“Our kids are always asking when they can take food home,” said a school administrator. I am humbled and honored to have fulfilled a fundamental need for kids who might otherwise go hungry over the weekend.

As my senior year in high school comes to a close in the coming months, I look forward to having an even more significant impact in college as an ambassador for Blessings in a Backpack. I am also excited to major in biology, and I plan to delve into adolescent health research and the long-term impacts of food insecurity.