Every state in the U.S. has children who live in poverty, and Tennessee seems to have more than
its fair share. One out of eight kids in our state lives in a poor neighborhood. They reside in areas
with high levels of condensed destitution. Poverty is always accompanied by food insecurity in
the forms of an inadequate amount of food and not enough nutritious food.
The Karamu Nutrition Program’s goal is to lower—or, in a perfect world—eliminate that
statistic. The mission of Karamu, which is a 501(c)(3) organization, is to deliver low-cost, high-
quality assistance to Tennessee’s childcare providers, and the children and families they serve.
A child’s accessibility to an inadequate amount of nutritious food has adverse repercussions on
him physically and mentally later in life. The stress alone affects the development of his brain.
As an adult, the non-nutritious food that he ate as a child increases his risk of diabetes, heart
disease, stroke and other associated health problems.
When children eat too much food that lacks nutrition, their energy levels decrease and they show
less interest in learning, both of which hinder their performances in school. The kids are also
likely to be subjected to stunted physical growth and maturation. At the same time, researchers
found that people who had nutritional deficiencies early in life—for example, they consumed a
lot of trans and saturated fats—can end up with memory, cognition and concentration problems.
Children who eat well are likely to establish healthy eating habits as they grow older. The more
kids understand and appreciate nutrition, the more interested they’ll take in eating foods that
benefit them.
Please put Karamu on your list of organizations to which you donate. You’ll be helping
thousands of children be healthy now and then later, when they become adults. If you would like
to get in touch with us, please call 901-327-8401 or send an email to karamu@karamu.org.