Rachel Roland is a mom on a mission - exploring beautiful Arizona (and beyond!) with her two little companions, Jeremiah and Sarah, in search of the best restaurants, attractions, and products for you and your children. See what she has in store for your family today!

Summer has arrived!  While it might not 'officially' be summer until June 20th, the majority of children are on summer break and us moms are wondering what exactly we should do during these hot weeks before summer starts again.  We're researching summer camps, summer vacations to cooler locations, and planning pool parties with our friends.  

There are children in our community - at Central High School, to be exact - who are spending part of their summer break without eating.  Did you know that some children at schools go all through the weekend without eating?  Their survival depends on the meal programs at the school, and when the weekend comes - they go without.   

A local woman, Robin, heard about this problem and, heartbroken, prayed about the problem and the answer she heard was not what she was expecting - that she should do something about it.  And she did.  

She started collecting food to distribute on Friday afternoons, so these students could go home with something to eat over the weekend.  And, even through school is over, Robin's efforts, The Kindness Project, go on to make sure these children do not go without eating.  (Central High School has a Monday through Thursday meal program for the summer, and Robin is making sure that weekend gap still is covered.)  

I was shocked to hear that so many children don't eat - 200 to 250 a week collect food packages from Robin on Fridays - and even more sad that it was so close to home.  Robin wants to spread The Kindness Project to other schools, and this week, I'm organizing a food drive to benefit The Kindness Project this summer.  

How can you help?  

First, if you can't donate non-perishable food at one of the drop off locations, you can donate via mail or online at their website.

This week, you can drop donations at a couple of Valley locations: 

Tempe: Apologia Church, which is located at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 1035 E Guadalupe Rd, Tempe. This is a church inside a church, so the hours you can drop off are: Tuesday 6pm-9pm, Thursday 7pm-9pm. 

Phoenix: CO+HOOTS office space: 825 N 7th St, Phoenix. 10am-6pm, Monday-Friday. 

Please donate non-perishable food, only.  Thank you!  

If any businesses want to put up a box or bin to donate, please let me know so I can add you to this list! 

Food will be collected through Friday at noon.  

I'm excited to see what this community can do for these students! 

I'm Rachel - a mom, wife, and 'green' blogger at Small Steps On Our Journey. If you want me to come visit your place of business, have any questions on this article or suggestions for a future article, you can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or tweet me at @rachelroland, or connect with me on Facebook.