November 16th-22nd is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. While many people think hunger is a problem only in foreign countries, but there are hundreds of families here in Lafayette who have trouble putting food on the table every night. Food prices are going up and the economy is in a slump. Food Finders Food Bank Director Katy Bunder said more than 5,000 children live in poverty in Tippecanoe County.On Tuesday, November 18th, I will have a special report called 'The Faces of Hunger.' You will get to meet the Weikel family in Lafayette. They have five children at Miami Elementary School and rely on the backpack program to make ends meet. The Noon Rotary Club fills backpacks each week with about 10 pounds of food. That helps ensure the children have enough to eat through the weekend. All the children and Rotary volunteers I met at Miami were wonderful. I hope this story will create more awareness of hunger in our community, as well as inspire people and organizations to sponsor additional needed backpack programs in our area.
