Brown Bagging
With the holiday seasons upon us, our thoughts turn to “good will towards man,” huge family dinners (loosen that belt) and ringing in another new year. The familiar red kettles, along with the bell-ringing volunteers, have made their annual appearance and are waiting for you to come out the store and drop your change.
This year, add just a little more to your charitable giving and help make some of your fellow citizens' lives a little easier by easing their hunger.
...impact the life of someone who will have food for a day just because YOU bought a few cans of soup.
The Brown Bag Project is set for Saturday, November 21.
The objective of this project is to deliver meals to the poor and homeless. If you are unable to deliver meals, you can donate food to your local food bank or make a monetary donation.
Food banks started taking hits when the economy began its downturn a few years ago. As a result the need always exceeds what the supply.
An estimated 49.1 million people (2008 report) in the U.S. face consistent 'food insecurity.' According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 'food insecurity' is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. Hunger, according to USDA documents, is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity.
Grab a few extra cans of food when you go grocery shopping, send donations to your local food bank when you get paid, write letters to your representatives, take up food collections in churches, schools and workplaces, and blog online.
Eating enough food for an active, healthy life is the most basic of human needs. The lack of food leads to undernourishment and poor health – which then leads to high medical expenses. Clearly social programs are not reaching millions of low-income people who are in need. In fact, the numbers of those most in need doubled between 2000 and 2008.
The Surgeon General's goal is to improve our nation's food security in 2010-- from 88% of all US households (1995) to 94%.
Our hungry need help now and not just for the holiday season. Grab a few extra cans of food when you go grocery shopping, send donations to your local food bank when you get paid, write letters to your representatives, take up food collections in churches, schools and workplaces, and blog online. Raise awareness.
It doesn't take much effort to make a huge difference. A few dollars can impact the life of someone who will have food for a day just because YOU bought a few cans of soup. If everyone contributed even a little, we could dramatically decrease the number of the hungry in our country. It just takes action.
If you would like more information or find other ways to get involved, here are a couple of websites:
The Brown Bag Project - the main hub for the project
Hunger in the US - has statistics by state and much more information
Feeding America - has the statistics for each state, a link to the closest Feeding America food bank and the types and numbers of service agencies distributing food
Share our Strength - an organization fighting to end childhood hunger in America
Bread for the World's US page
World Hunger's US page
Donate to the San Antonio (TX) Food Bank – where the founders of The Brown Bag Project began. Volunteers will once again be delivering meals in San Antonio anonymously Saturday attaching a card that reads "from someone who cares about you."
