<h1 class="entry-title"><font size="5">Help Food Banks this Summer by Donating Kid Friendly Foods from Walmart #cbias</font></h1>

Since the beginning, it's been my blogging mission to share stories of inspirational people, interesting products and worthy causes.

We have always stressed to The Kids the importance of acceptance, compassion and empathy through charity.

When I found out that I had the opportunity to purchase $40 in foodstuffs from Walmart and donate them to our local food bank "House of Lazarus" I was very proud.

Generosity begets Happiness.

I was also very sad because the numbers are staggering. In Canada, 882,000 people require the assistance of Food banks every month. Forty percent of those are children.

I really feel for the children because they are so vulnerable and they have little to no control over their situation. The big problem is that during the summer, these children are not receiving breakfast support from schools or leftovers from classmates.

With this in mind, I contacted the House of Lazarus to find out what items they needed to get through the summer. On my list; Canned Vegetables, Granola Bars, Toilet Paper, Peanut Butter, Cereal, Sugar and Large Cans of Soup.

Fortunately, at this time of year, fresh produce is bountiful. Not only because people like myself bring in excess from our gardens but also because the foodbank has their own garden run by dedicated volunteers.

The Walmart in Kemptville is fairly new and I hadn't had the chance to shop there before. When I walked in, I was greeted by tons of affordable summer seasonal items and tasty snacks.

Note: Do not shop hungry.

Even though I wasn't familiar with the store layout, there were people around that I could ask for direction and almost everything on my list such as Kraft peanut butter and granola bars had visible and easy to read signage.

For this shop, price was an issue, however, just as important were the ingredients, shelf life and health benefits.

I try to avoid canned items but I understand that they have a long shelf life. In turn, I chose the canned tomatoes that had "No Salt Added". Purchasing peanut butter and tuna just made sense due to their versatility. They can be eaten for lunch, dinner and even snacks (on crackers). The bonus is that it's a great source of protein and doesn't require special storage requirements or a refrigerator or stove to prepare it.

The End Result...
I was able to purchase everything on our list and some. In total, 21 items for $39.91!

If you think that you've heard us mention the House of Lazarus before that's because they're a part of our life. On a weekly basis we visit the thrift shop and are fortunate to call the employees our friends. We even helped them promote a holiday campaign that Kraft Foods sponsored which resulted in the food bank receiving over a thousand dollars!

You can check out more photos of my Walmart shopping trip in my Google+ Album.

Interested in helping out? Connect with the House of Lazarus via their Website or Facebook. Or, Find a Food Bank near you.

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