ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — One out of four children in Orangeburg County goes hungry outside of school.
That fact is according to nonprofit 'Into the Mouth of Babes', that is working to address this issue through its feeding program.
“There’s a lot of parents, or grandparents, aunts and uncles that are raising children that may not use their food sources wisely," said treasurer of the group 'Into the Mouth of Babes', Melissa Cain.
She explains by saying this means many children in the area could go an entire weekend without access to food.
The organization provides snack bags to about 1,100 elementary school students on Fridays to take home over the weekend.
“Just the thought of a child coming back to school on Monday and not having enough food to eat or sometimes any food to eat is incomprehensible to me," said Cain.
The organization collects foods like ramen noodles, peanut butter crackers, and granola bars. Thinks that will travel well and last over the weekend and is easy to eat.
The goal of this program is to make sure children don't have to wonder where their next meal is coming from. She says this could end up hindering the child's academic experience.
"If you send your child to school and he's hungry, he's not focused. He's not learning. He's not able to concentrate," she said, "His capability of learning and maintaining and good grades and continuing to build his education just dwindles lower and lower."
The nonprofit is seeking out more helping hands and is open to food donations.
For more information, visit their website.