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According to the Arizona Food Bank Network, 311,390 children in its state face food insecurities. In a recent country-wide House Rules Committee roundtable, Rep. Jim McGovern, the committee chairman, said, Let's be clear. Schools are the backbone of efforts to end child hunger in this country and for many kids they are the only places where they can reliably get a healthy, nutritious meal all day." Following this, the Arizona Department of Education recently announced the Creating Your Kitchen program in collaboration with the Chef Ann Foundation to support schools across the state in providing students with fresh food. In Tucson, the school district launched its Community and School Garden Program where children get to grow their own food. The program is active across 18 schools. 350 pounds of produce harvested in the 2020-2021 school year were given mainly to low-income communities as part of their grab-and-go lunch. Food not used in the school cafeterias were donated to families who needed them. In addition to addressing hunger, these school gardens also became places where students could "practice mindfulness, emotional self-regulation, and... connect meaningfully with other people," said Moses Thompson, director of the program.
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