We are facing hard financial times, and the demand on local food banks has increased almost 50% over the past three years. Food banks all over NYC are having trouble keeping their shelves full of nutritious things to eat for the growing number of families who aren't able to put food on their tables.

This drive is particularly personal to me because I have experienced what it is like to go hungry. As a child, we often did not have any food in our house. My sister and I can laugh now about the times we would scrounge under the couch cushions to find change so we could buy a Hostess Fruit Pie or two at the corner bodega for dinner for 25 cents each.

They call it "food insecurity" nowadays, and it is an apt name. To this day, I still struggle not to eat all of the food available to me—the idea of needing to "stock up" because you don't know if you will eat again soon is, apparently, a hard one to extinguish. As a teenager and young adult, my stomach lining was so damaged from being empty most of the time that I grew ulcers that took years to go away.

Most people will not admit that they do not have enough food. It's embarrassing. Perhaps that's why a number like one in five children being hungry seems so unbelievable, but these kids may be right under your nose. It's possible, even likely, that there are students in your child's class who do not have enough food to eat at home.

Today, I am teaming up with the Food Bank for New York City, Buzzing Bloggers, and YouGiveGoods.com, a new online service which helps people host charity drives in their communities, to provide food for hungry kids in New York City. My goal is to raise $2,500 to feed 10,000 children in NYC this holiday season.

Using the YouGiveGoods website, you can choose the products that you want to donate. It's the same as going and buying them yourself and dropping them in the food bin, but without having to go to the store or deliver the food. For as little as $5 and a few minutes of your time, you can help us feed a family.

I know that many of you may have food drives at work or school, but I hope you will consider giving here, too. I am confident the moms and dads who read Mommy Poppins can have a huge impact when we work together to help hungry children in NYC. Visit our YouGiveGoods drive to give now.

Thank you and have a wonderful holiday.

Disclosure: Buzzing Bloggers offered me $500 to start a drive on the YouGiveGoods website and share it with my readers. I donated 100% of the money to the drive.

Find other holiday charity ideas in our Holiday Guide, and gift ideas in our NYC Shopping Local Gift Guide.