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Twelve-year-old Jazze is your average pre-teen in more ways than one. She enjoys dancing, learning the latest make-up fashion trends and hanging out with friends. Like many others her age across the country and in Brevard, she worries about having enough food to feed her entire family.

"I live with seven siblings, and my baby sister is so cute," said Jazze. "It's hard on my mom to take care of all of us especially a baby who has seizures, a breathing problem and severe brain damage." To help make ends meet, Jazze's family depends on food packages she receives at Palm Bay Elementary School. This backpack program is a strategic partnership between Health First and The Children's Hunger Project to give back to the community and help feed students who are at risk of child hunger and malnutrition.

In total for Fiscal Year 2019, Health First provided $180 million of community support to other organizations and our direct charity and uncompensated care. Supporting wellness and health-driven organizations is part of our commitment to giving back to our community. This includes activities and events such as The Children's Hunger Project.

Outcomes such as those demonstrated by The Children's Hunger Project are the backbone of Health First's mission. Because when it comes to caring for our community, we want to ensure our families, friends and neighbors have access to the wellness and health services they need. Every Friday, Jazze and five of her siblings leave Palm Bay Elementary School with a food packet to take home. These caring and compassionate siblings don't keep it for themselves. Instead, they have a process where the food is sorted and able to nourish everyone.

"We put the chocolate milk and the juice in the refrigerator, the spaghetti or beef ravioli in the cabinet along with our granola bars, sunflower seeds and sausages," Jazze said. "We give the applesauce to my mom so she can feed the baby. That's okay because she needs to eat, too."

It's because of this partnership that The Children's Hunger Project can help feed Jazze's and so many other local families to have proper nutrition throughout the weekend. Research shows that addressing child hunger will help improve overall wellness and health. It's an important healthcare element Jazze, her siblings and thousands of kids need as they continue to grow into teenagers and young adults.