One result of the poor living conditions in Nicaragua is that many families only have enough food for one meal a day.

Often diets are mainly rice and beans resulting in vitamin deficiencies which are evident in children's skinny, bowed legs, knobby knees, coarse hair, and short stature. Teachers report that students were actually fainting in school because they had not eaten.

             
               Over 13,000 children are being fed each day at
           163 different Rainbow Network feeding/nutrition centers.
 

Feeding centers are staffed by adult volunteers in each community who organize, prepare, and cook the meals.

The feeding centers provide a noon meal five to six days a week. The meals are planned each month to provide the needed nutrients for growing children.

A difference is easily seen in the communities where feeding programs have been established, yet some mental and physical growth can never be replaced.

The feeding centers also serve meals to pregnant and nursing mothers and selected at-risk elderly from the community.

     What we spend on one fast food meal in the United States  will feed a child for TWO MONTHS.