COVID-19 emergency school nutrition campaign takes on hunger

GENYOUth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to creating healthier school communities, announced this week the establishment of a COVID-19 Emergency School Nutrition Fund to assist schools nationwide as they strive to provide school meals containing essential nutrition to students during the coronavirus pandemic.Approximately 124,000 U.S. public and private schools across the nation are now closed as a result of COVID-19 but they remain a critical source for the 30 million students who rely on school meals for a substantial portion of their daily nutrition. Across the nation, school nutrition professionals and volunteers are adopting new methods of delivering healthy meals during school closures. To meet this unprecedented need, GENYOUth has launched, "For Schools' Sake – Help Us Feed Our Nation's Kids!"Feedstuffs editor Sarah Muirhead talked with Ann Marie Krautheim, president and chief wellness officer of GENYOUth, to find out more about the new program, how it works and role that America’s dairy farmers and others play in making it possible. As Krautheim explained, this is a national call-to-action for corporations, foundations, athletes, influencers and individuals to raise their hands with urgency and compassion to support the COVID-19 Emergency School Nutrition Fund and spread the word to help feed the need #ForSchoolsSake. They can do this by making a donation at www.genyouthnow.org and by posting pictures with their hands raised in support for school nutrition professionals and volunteers on their social media channels. Likewise, dairy farmers are being encouraged to post pictures of themselves with their cows.This episode of Feedstuffs In Focus is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health. Join Feedstuffs and Balchem April 29 for a  virtual mini-symposium on  on Methyl Donors and 1-C Metabolism in Dairy Cattle. Watch for registration information at Feedstuffs.com, and via the Feedstuffs Daily eNewsletter.For more information on this and other stories, visit Feedstuffs online.Follow Feedstuffs on Twitter @Feedstuffs, or join the conversation via Facebook.