I make my son a hot breakfast every morning. I carry him to the table still bundled in his blanket and sit him down to a plate of French toast and berries or a banana pancake with peanut butter or, at the very least, some multigrain toast and Greek yogurt with honey. Every day I pack him a nutritious, colorful lunch and extra snacks on the side in case he is hungrier than usual. He lines up after the morning whistle blows, well-fueled for his day, and we are very fortunate to be able to provide those things for him, but I know the statistics on poverty in our community, and I know that lined up right alongside him are many children with empty tummies and nothing in their backpacks at all.

Growing up, I never went hungry, and I always had a clean, warm place to sleep, but I knew even then that my parents struggled, and that we often needed help to fill our pantry. We got dropped off at school early so we could eat breakfast, and we scanned our free lunch cards in the hot lunch line every day. Without those systems in place, my sister and I still never would have gone hungry, but my parents likely would have had to make sure we didn’t.

The sad fact is that for some children, the meals they eat at school might be the only ones they know they’ll eat that day. Whether by misfortune or misdeed, when a family fails to provide for their children it is the moral duty of the community to feed those innocent victims of circumstance. I cannot imagine a more appropriate use of public funds, but there are some who would disagree. There are some who insist that the offspring of their neighbors are none of their concern, and that being asked to share in the burden of raising them, even in the smallest of ways, is a violation of their freedoms and is akin to theft. I cannot understand how anyone could be so heartless, but I am not surprised by it anymore.

With the possibility of even greater suffering from hunger as we head into the holiday season, consider donating and volunteering at our local food banks. Donations of foods that children can prepare themselves are especially useful if your aim is to help hungry children, as struggling parents often work multiple jobs and odd hours, and those children might be on their own cooking their evening meals. Items like easy mac, canned foods with pop-tabs, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, string cheese and bread are always needed, and monetary donations are exceptionally helpful as well.

My mother taught me to never be wasteful and to use as much as we could. After we carved our pumpkins, we always roasted the seeds to snack on. Pumpkin seeds are packed with healthy fats and antioxidants and are a great source of magnesium, zinc and vitamin E, perfect for fueling growing brains and bodies.

Ingredients:

Raw pumpkin seeds

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Seasonings

Directions:

Separate the seeds from the pulp.

Rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of pulp.

Spread out on a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 250-degree oven for 1 hour.

Allow them to cool before tossing in olive oil and adding seasonings. I used about 1 teaspoon of tajin seasoning for a salty, zesty snack, but you can try different variations like sweet and spicy (3 tablespoons brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon cayenne) or pumpkin spice (3 tablespoons brown sugar and ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend).

Roast in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes, until they are crispy.

Serve alongside a healthy lunch, if you can.