> Features > Health & Fitness > September is Hunger Action Month. <i>It's time to make a difference in your community!</i> |
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September is Hunger Action Month. It's time to make a difference in your community! |
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HATFIELD The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, in conjunction with Feeding America the national network of food banks announces the second annual Hunger Action Month, a nationwide call-to-action to mobilize people everywhere to get involved with ending hunger in America. Throughout the month of September, the Food Bank, along with volunteers and partner organizations, will be hosting events to raise money and awareness to encourage people to join us in the fight against hunger locally.
"Hunger Action Month is an important way for everyone to get involved in mobilizing against hunger an issue that affects all of our communities," said Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. "Throughout this month and beyond, we hope to raise awareness about this critical issue and its solutions." There are many ways we can all take part in reducing hunger today while working towards long-term solutions that address the underlying causes of hunger.
As one part of finding solutions, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is hosting two signature events for Hunger Action Month.
The first ever Western Massachusetts Hunger Summit: Making the Connection will take place on Sept. 24 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. This day of workshops and guest speakers will be devoted to building capacity within the community to address hunger, and offering ways for everyone to get involved. The Summit will kick off at noon with keynote speeches from Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Joel Berg, author of "All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America?" Afternoon discussion panels featuring local experts will examine the topics of obesity and hunger; food policy councils; government anti-hunger programs; and youth participation. Elizabeth Clay, Gov. Deval Patrick's Director of Commonwealth Corps and Grassroots Governance, will close the day with a call to action.
All month long, the Food Bank's Fork it Over for Food campaign will be taking place at more than 50 restaurants throughout Western Massachusetts. (To see a full list of participating restaurants, log on to www.foodbankwma.org). Restaurants will encourage residents to help feed struggling families this season by asking diners to give $3, $5 or $10 to help provide meals to more than 100,000 individuals in Western Massachusetts. Every dollar donated to the Food Bank provides $9 worth of food to those in our community living at risk of hunger.
Other activities taking place to honor Hunger Action Month are listed on the Food Bank Web site, www.foodbankwma.org.
"The goal of Hunger Action Month is to mobilize the public to help feed the millions of American men, women and children who are living on the brink of hunger," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. "This September is our opportunity to create a movement that has a real and lasting impact on our efforts to feed more Americans."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that more than 36 million Americans live in "food-insecure" households meaning they don't have dependable, consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food to maintain good health.
One in 10 residents of Western Massachusetts struggles with food insecurity. In some areas of our region, as many as one in three children lives in a family that is unable to provide for its basic food needs. Many households these days need to rely on the emergency food network for longer periods of time due to layoffs and the slow economy. Over the past year, the Food Bank has seen an increase of 17 percent in the number of people seeking food assistance.
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