Hopefully you’ve been following along since I first visited the Los Angeles Food Bank back in August to learn and help raise awareness about child hunger. Well, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the most fulfilling part of this project since helping in the food bank.

Along with Piera Jolly of the popular blog JollyMom.com we headed to Parkside Elementary in South East Atlanta, GA. There we met Armelia Ray Braddy, one of the most passionate teachers that I’ve ever met. Her drive for this cause is amazing! With the help of principal  Dr. Phillip Luck and the rest of the administration, Mrs. Braddy has spearheaded a food drive and helped to express the importance of fighting child hunger to the students of Parkside.

I had the chance to talk to Mrs. Braddy about how she organized the food drive and the source of her passion when it comes to fighting child hunger. Scroll down to check out the interview.

 BMWK: Tell us about the wonderful things you and the kids are doing here at Parkside Elementary to fight child hunger.

AB: When we heard about the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign we decided to become a partner. Initially we had a dance and had the kids bring in canned foods. Then the next day we had a festival and held a contest for the kids to decorate their cans for prizes. Now we’re interested in having another dance called the Stomp Out Hunger Dance and the kids will have to bring a can for entry.

BMWK: I noticed that you’re extremely passionate about fighting child hunger. What drives that passion?

AB: I have four kids, and when I grew up in Mississippi I was poor. But now I am so blessed that my four kids don’t ever have to go hungry. So that’s part of who I am as a mom. If there is something that we can ever do like bring cans for kids we can do it. If we can clip a coupon or get a code to feed some kids then I’m excited about it. I think that’s what all of us and all of the schools should be doing. It’s easy and it doesn’t cost us a thing, just time.

BMWK: Other schools may read this interview and say we want to do what Parkside is doing. Was it tough to pull this together?

AB: No, it doesn’t take anything. Our principal was on board and he said yes. This is our way of communicating and connecting to the community. This is too easy. I think any school should be obligated when we are teaching children to have our families   get involved by doing a canned food drive for others.

It’s not too late for you and your local school to get involved. From August through December, there are two simple ways schools, parents and students can help end child hunger in their own communities.

1. Food Drives ““ Help host or participate in school-sponsored food drives to collect food to be donated to local food banks in each community. The Child Hunger Ends Here campaign has set a nationwide goal of 2 million pounds of food for these efforts.
2. Collect UPCs ““ Parents can help students collect UPC codes from participating ConAgra Foods brands. For each UPC collected, ConAgra Foods will make a monetary donation enabling Feeding America to secure one meal for those in need.

Parents and teachers can visit ChildHungerEndsHere.com to register their school for the program.   Every school that participates will be entered for a chance to win one of several prize packs, including the grand prize ““ $10,000 to fund school field trips.

You can also join the movement online by visiting the ConAgra Foods twitter and facebook pages and the Child Hunger Ends Here website.