8 years ago, I was the one to tell my 10 year old nephew that his father (my brother) had passed from an aneurysm at 32 years old.

There were a few immediate family members present. I started off by reminding my nephew how much his dad loved him and reminded him of the memories they had that day (that day was Christmas, he was found the following morning)

I then explained to my nephew that his dad went to sleep the night before and passed in his sleep peacefully. I went on to explain to him that death is a part of life that we all experience at some point, that it is a part of living and a part of nature. I reminded him that just because he left this world, it doesn't mean he was going to leave our hearts.

He immediately began to cry, and we consoled him. We told him that it was OK to be sad. That grieving is part of the process of healing.

It took some time for him to process everything, but we made sure he knew his feelings were valid, that he could talk about it with us whenever he wanted. We didn't try and sugarcoat it. We did our best to let him see our emotions without us losing control ourselves (at least while he was present).

There's no "right" way to break this kind of news to a child other than to be honest and be supportive and understanding of their emotions.

Time for a drink apparently.

See if there are any food banks, churches and other organizations that distribute food donations locally, chances are there will be no charge.

r/frugal may also help with suggestions. They are the masters of living well... frugally.