These are not just kids from isolated areas or low-income neighborhoods. You won’t see their sad little faces on late-night television commercials with celebrities pleading their cause. Where you will find them is in every school in San Diego County. They are children from all walks of life who, through no fault or control of their own, are caught up in challenging economic conditions that determine what, if anything, they will have to eat.
Got Your Back San Diego is a weekend food assistance program dedicated to supporting children in our local schools who have been identified as at-risk due to food insecurity.
The USDA officially defines food insecurity as when people don’t have enough to eat and don’t know where their next meal will come from. It is a momentous problem all across the United States, but in San Diego County alone, over 92,000 children live in food-insecure households. Food insecurity is a systemic issue that can happen to anyone, not a personal failure, but people facing the challenges of high living costs, expensive housing, unemployment, and low-wage jobs.
Participating schools submit the number of children-in-need they have. Then every week, Got Your Back San Diego provides a bag full of nutritious food for each one of those children to last them throughout the entire weekend. Every bag also contains an interactive homework assignment to help educate children about nutrition and making healthy food choices. After filling the bags, we deliver them to the schools, where a designated school liaison distributes them to the children on Fridays as they leave for the weekend.
Got Your Back San Diego’s purpose is to fight childhood hunger in our local communities. Our mission is to end food insecurity, beginning with San Diego’s school children, and remain diligent in that fight, wherever it takes us.
The Got Your Back San Diego project is having a significant impact on the lives of the children it serves. Our hope is to bring our program into every school in San Diego County. However, the need is immense, and we can’t do it alone. Got Your Back San Diego is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity. We rely entirely on the generosity of local businesses, churches, social organizations, and private individuals who share our passion and commitment to fight childhood hunger locally. There is much more to do, and we need your help to do it. To learn how you can help, please click here to sponsor a child.
Please share this website with your friends, family, coworkers and social media. So many people have no idea of the challenges that thousands of kids face every weekend. And our biggest challenge is getting the word out.
EIN # 20-8220093
Hunger can be harmful to any individual, but is particularly devastating to children due to their increased vulnerability and potential for long-term consequences, including health issues and behavioral challenges.
For children, food insecurity is particularly devastating. Not having enough healthy food can have serious implications for a child’s physical and mental health, academic achievement and future economic prosperity.
Research shows an association between food insecurity and delayed development in young children; risk of chronic illnesses like asthma and anemia; and behavioral problems like hyperactivity, anxiety and aggression in school-age children.
Children who suffer from food insecurities are more likely to require hospitalization, at higher risk for chronic health conditions, such as anemia, and asthma, and have more frequent instances of oral health problems.
Food insecurity among young children is associated with poorer physical quality of life, which may prevent them from fully engaging in daily activities such as school and social interaction with peers.
Food insecurity is also associated with social difficulties, truancy and school tardiness, hyperactivity, aggression, anxiety, mood swings, bullying, and fighting with other children
For inquiries please call or email us. We are here to answer any of your questions.
