Growing up in West Virginia, Jennifer Garner remembers the moment she began to notice the divide: some classmates stayed behind in elementary school while she moved on to the next grade.
“I was raised in a middle-class family surrounded by generational rural poverty,” the actor, 53, tells TODAY.com.
It wasn’t until later that she made the connection. Children whose parents were professionals seemed set on one track, while kids from the “hollers,” isolated communities in the state’s mountain valleys, were on another.
Unknown to Garner at the time, some of her peers were going to bed hungry, but she didn’t realize it because their bellies appeared full. It was the result of low-quality, processed foods they were eating, which made them puff out even as their bodies lacked proper nutrition.
Not only did Pat and Bill Garner place a strong emphasis on their daughter’s education, but their kitchen was consistently stocked with fresh produce from the family garden and other nourishing ingredients. The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes that early nutrition is vital for brain development, warning that deficiencies in essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, and iodine can have lasting effects on cognition and behavior.
“We cannot expect kids to go to school and thrive and learn without making sure they have food in their bellies,” Garner says, pointing out that an estimated 17 million U.S. households face hunger. That reality inspired her to co-found Once Upon a Farm, an organic baby food company that partners with Save the Children to bring nutritious meals to children in food-insecure communities across the country.
In 2024, Once Upon a Farm pledged to deliver one million meals by 2025, a goal they recently celebrated achieving. To date, the mission-driven brand has delivered more than 1.3 million meals including 425,000 pouches and contributed $800,00 in donations.
Garner’s voice lights up when she talks about Once Upon a Farm, each word infused with energy and enthusiasm. She takes particular pride in the fact that the farm-to-fridge, USDA Certified Organic products are now available through the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program in 19 states.
“We’re giving kids a chance to grow up on a healthier path,” she says.
For Garner, true fulfillment comes from focusing on others, a message she instills in her children, Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Samuel, 13.
“I always tell my kids if you want to be happy, don’t get caught up in the mirror, don’t worry about aging or acne, don’t fixate on your weight. Look around at your community, your church, your school, and ask, ‘How can I help?’ Then keep that ripple going,” she says. “You need to look out, not in. Find what moves you. There’s so much good work to be done.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are joining forces to give back. The exes and co-parents reunited in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood on Thanksgiving to serve meals to the homeless community.
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