Life

Why I Pack Two Lunches

sweet-kid

This is how I hope I’m raising my kids to be… Dylan Duran asked his mother if she could pack two lunches for him that day. When she asked if he wasn’t getting enough to eat, Dylan said “No, but there’s a boy in my class who only has a fruit cup for lunch every day. I don’t think he has any money to buy lunch.” So Josette started packing two lunches every day, and Dylan and his friend had their meal together. It was a no-brainer for Josette, because she knows what it’s like to be in desperate need. She told the Today Show, “I was homeless a few years ago. I know how hard it is to ask for help. You get ashamed and feel embarrassed,” she said, adding that she also felt isolated from friends and loved ones “because we didn’t want anyone to know what was going on with us.”

duran

After speaking with the boy’s mother, the school put him on the subsidized breakfast and lunch program. Josette was nervous about how the mother would respond. “Because in this day and age, when you try to help somebody, some people get offended by it. People aren’t used to kindness,” she said. “So I was kind of scared. I didn’t want her (the mom) to think that I was stepping on her toes, or crossing boundaries, but she was very, very thankful and told me so. She told me how much she appreciated what we did.”

I hope I’m raising the kind of children who look closer and pay attention to someone who might be quietly struggling, someone who might need their help. Dylan’s an amazing role model for all of us.

If you or someone you know needs more information about subsidized school meals, there’s plenty of information here to get you started.

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