Green grocery bags stuffed with food donations have been a symbol of hope for many hungry families in the Triad.
These bags provide food for the non-profit A Simple Gesture. The organization collects the bags from the porches of more fortunate families to donate to food banks.
Leslie Isakoff, Executive Director A Simple Gesture
A Simple Gesture started in 2015, when the Greensboro High Point area was named the fourteenth hungriest city in the United States.
Leslie Isakoff, Executive Director of the organization, said they started with one goal: ensuring every child below the age of five had access to food.
“For me, hunger isn’t just an empty belly,” Leslie says about the impact of childhood hunger on a community.
Children who experience hunger for more than six months carry this impact into their adult life. They experience higher rates of incarceration, an increased likelihood to suffer from diabetes and cancer, and earn 50% less over their lifetime.
When A Simple Gesture received a grant from Women to Women, it opened up new horizons for the organization. With the money, A Simple Gesture was able to meet with local pediatricians to determine how best to help children meet their nutritional needs.
Women to Women has also aided in relief from COVID-19. Existing food shortages have only worsened with the pandemic. On February 29, hunger in the United States was at 17%. By April 30 it jumped to 42%.
A Simple Gesture was able to keep children fed with Women to Women’s contribution to the COVID Relief Fund. Despite the pandemic, Women to Women continues to help mothers in the community by providing funding to A Simple Gesture.
“Women are actually the most vulnerable and the most likely to be hungry,” Leslie explains. “What you often see is women not eating so their children can eat.”
With A Simple Gesture providing proper nutrition to children, mothers can reallocate their family’s resources towards nourishing themselves.
“We’re just so grateful for Women to Women for taking a chance on us,” Leslie says about A Simple Gesture’s ambitious goal. “Women to Women was able to see the potential in that and make it happen.”
To learn more about A Simple Gesture’s mission and ways to help visit their website asimplegesturegso.org.
Author: Ellie Little almylittle.myportfolio.com