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Hello beautiful people. I know you all enjoy a good before and after as much as I do, but this week I am writing in a slightly different way.

Let’s talk about cleaning out those pantries this time of year. Did you know you can clean out your pantry and give back to our community? Many of your local school districts contribute to food drives this time of year.

It is a great way to get the youth involved and to bring awareness to them. Most children have a friend who suffers from childhood hunger.

There are programs like the backpack program that feeds children on the weekend discreetly. I chose to write about this because we often throw things out and they could be utilized. I think most of us do not know where to bring these items.

The first thing you should do is check the expiration date.

I can guarantee, you most likely have a bag full of items that are good. I typically do a pantry clean out before the holidays as I begin to prepare for Thanksgiving. The timing is perfect because large food drives happen around this time of year to help those in need in our community.

There are some local places you can call if you have questions about what and when they accept items like the Salvation Army, Orange Christian Services, local churches, and reach out to the children in your family.

I am certain the children in your family have a canned food drive competition going on. Give their parents a call and let them pick up the items you have set aside. Everybody wins in this situation. You get to clean out your pantry and they have more items to contribute to their donation.

You can make this donation more special by having the children come over and help you clear their pantry and reward them with items they can donate at school. I suggest making a fun time out of it by baking cookies and fun music while you work.

The lesson is invaluable to the children in your life. We can build our community up with simple gestures of kindness and it can be as simple as sharing a food item you were going to toss in the trash. Be bold with your kindness and share it with those around you including the younger generation. OrangeYouBold…Yes I am.