This week a bunch of kids in my hometown of Belleville, Illinois collected enough food pantry donatables to fill 10 school buses. That's over 20,000 items that will directly benefit food insecure families in my community.

For the Drive Away Hunger program, students collected and donated non-perishable food items. Ten-year-old Austin Firestone collected over 100 bags of groceries by sending letters to his neighbors.

Food pantries such as Belleville's Community Interfaith Food Pantry are currently assisting an average of 20 new families a week. Their director, Jerry Messick, told the Belleville News-Democrat: "Without this food, we couldn't keep the doors open."

Not bad for a bunch of kids!

LiveFeed has another way kids all over the St. Louis metro area. I'm extremely partial to this, because it's the first show I've ever organized.



Sunday, April 26th, come to The Royale (3132 S. Kingshighway) from 3-5 PM for the first-ever St. Louis Rock n' Romp! Royale owner Steven Smith has graciously given us the run of their courtyard, where we'll be hosting two locals bands - Harlot Bride and Andy Rhea and His Band - in a kid-friendly environment. Admission is one non-perishable food item, which goes directly to LiveFeed and will be distributed within St. Louis.

Bring the kids and they'll have a great time experiencing live music while helping their community. And you'll get to enjoy some great tunes, too, along with the company of like-minded parents and the food and libations The Royale offers. They've got some really yummy specials this weekend.