Taye Diggs is committed to helping kids who don’t always have the privilege of eating breakfast before heading out for a long day of school. The actor recently shared his heart with the Chicago Sun-Times, telling the media source’s readers that he didn’t always have breakfast as a child.

“The alarming reality is that one in five kids throughout our communities regularly go without breakfast. That means that one of your child’s friends probably starts each day without anything to eat,” said Taye. The actor further wrote, “I’ve personally experienced what this feels like — growing up, there were times that my family wasn’t doing so well, and I can remember days when I would go to school hungry. I can relate to the financial worries that many families in America face in trying to put food on the table every day.”

Although as an adult, Taye has no problem giving his son breakfast and other desired possessions in life, the actor is sure to remember the hard times by instilling charity in Walker. “He’s only three, but we are definitely instilling in him the importance of giving back,” explained Diggs to Parenting.com. “We make sure that he knows there is more to the world than just him and his toys. He has it pretty good and he knows that he should be thankful for that. Walker also knows that when he has too many toys, we need to give some of those toys away to kids who might not be able to afford them.”

Walker is Taye and wife Idina Menzel’s first child together. He celebrated his third birthday in September of last year.