Maya, a seventh-grade student in Nashville, loves to express herself, particularly as a writer and through the arts.

She sings in the choir, and her favorite artist is composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Maya starred in her school’s production of Moana, singing the songs Miranda wrote for the musical.

In the story, Moana, a young girl, lives on an island where blight is killing vegetation and shrinking the fish catch — so there’s a food shortage, and the people are going hungry … until the protagonist saves the day.

Maya knows what it’s like to sometimes experience hunger. She says it can be hard to focus in class or get ready for after-school choir on an empty stomach.

“If you come from a family that doesn’t have a lot of money, it’s hard to get nutritious food,” she says. “I think it’s important to have nutritious food, because not a lot of people have it. Getting it at school just makes things easier.”

Maya loves the snacks she gets at school thanks to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee — nourishment that your support helps make possible. But like so many other kids in our community, Maya doesn’t have access to school snacks and meals during the summer.

Your support of Second Harvest can go a long way right now, thanks to a $500,000 matching gift challenge. From now until June 30th, your gift will double in impact for children facing hunger this summer. Thank you!