SEPTEMBER IS HUNGER ACTION MONTH
Posted 09/01/11
What YOU can do to support Hunger Action Month
- Participate in the Food Stamp Challenge – try eating healthy on what the average North Carolina recipient gets for each meal: $1.38
- September 14 Ingles Day at Mountain State Fair: Bring 5 Cans of Laura Lynn brand canned goods and gain free admission to the fair!
- Challenge your coworkers to have a Virtual Food Drive with MANNA’s user friendly virtual food drive module. Share the link to the drive on all your social media outlets and create friendly competition to see who can do the most good.
- Support your local high school’s Student Food Drive
- Let your elected officials know ending hunger is a priority for you. Visit www.ncleg.net, www.house.gov, and www.senate.gov to find contact information, including phone numbers and email, for your elected officials.
- “Like” MANNA FoodBank on Facebook to keep up with happenings and opportunities to give of your time and resources.
- Set an empty plate at the dinner table as a reminder that someone is unable to eat today
- Invite friends to “virtual lunch.” Estimate the cost and donate that amount to your favorite hunger relief organization. MANNA FoodBank can feed 21 people with the average cost of $7 a lunch.
- Share this calendar with a friend and encourage them to pass it on!
- Sign up to become a MANNA FoodBank volunteer by contacting Autumn McCarver at amccarver@feedingamerica.org or 828-299-3663 xt 245.
- Follow MANNA on Twitter
- Visit MANNA’s Agency Directory to find a MANNA partner pantry, kitchen, or shelter in your community and volunteer your services and support.
- Donate a grocery store gift card to your local pantry so they can provide more to the people they serve.
- Donate a gas gift card to a local program that delivers groceries or meals, such as Meals on Wheels.
- People who don’t have enough money to eat often need assistance to get other staple items. Remember things like shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, laundry detergent, and toilet paper when donating and giving to “food” drives.
- Until you’ve seen MANNA FoodBank’s facility, you might not be able to understand the scope. Come tour the food bank to see how we moved 9.1 million pounds of food in 2010.
- When you’re planting your fall garden, plant a row for the hungry and donate it to MANNA FoodBank. We can help share it with people in need across 16 western North Carolina counties.
- Find a local pantry if you have garden surplus to donate by visiting www.ampleharvest.org.
- Sign up to receive e-newsletters from MANNA by.
- Become a fan of community gardening and lend a hand! Locally, Fields of Hope has two plots of land dedicated to farming for charitable giving. “Like” Fields of Hope – Mars Hill on Facebook.
- Visit the Map the Meal Gap website to learn the more about the number of people in your community who struggle with food insecurity.
- Educate yourself about what it means to live in poverty and read a good book in the process. “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” is author Barbara Ehrenreich’s account of her attempt to support herself while working minimum wage-level jobs.
- Visit Bountiful Cities Website to learn more about sustainable community gardening and other programs to strengthen communities.
