7 ways to fight hunger this month

Nov 24, 2015

It’s that time of year again. A time for people to come together. A time when many enjoy their favorite holiday meals. A time to celebrate. It’s also a time to welcome neighbors into a holiday party filled with laughter and cheer. What many may not know about this time of year is that food insecurity increases for many people.

In the United States, it’s estimated that one out of six of those neighbors invited to the holiday party is unsure, on any give day, about where their next meal is coming from. The unfortunate truth is, hunger is often harder to identify than many assume it to be. Too often, we associate hunger with images of famine, not of a family having to skip a meal because a utility bill was due.

As we move closer to the holidays where food is a central theme, take a moment to realize that fighting hunger doesn’t have to be hard. Think about that for a minute. If five out of six people chose to donate a food item to that one hungry person, hunger would disappear. We can truly make a difference.

Here’s a few easy ways to fight hunger this holiday season:

1. Become informed. One of the best ways to fight hunger is to be aware of the impact it has in our community. In Minnesota alone, thousands of families are struggling to put food on the table. According to a 2014 study, food shelves are visited by 9,000 hungry Minnesotans daily. The Salvation Army offers a variety of programs in Minnesota, North Dakota and the Twin Cities aimed at reducing hunger. Did you know that we serve more than 2,200 individuals a hot meal each day in these two states? Food is free to anyone in need, no questions asked.
2. Give to our food shelves. Starting in November through Christmas, the number of people visiting our food shelves tends to increase. Many rely on our food shelves for staples like pasta, peanut butter, cereal, and canned fruits and vegetables. While these items are always in high demand, we often get requests for seasonal items such as stuffing or muffin mix. To make the holidays a little merrier for our guests, consider donating a few of these seven seasonal items needed at foods shelves.
3. Serve a meal or volunteer at a food pantry. As traffic to our food pantries increases, so does our need for volunteers. We need help organizing donations so guests are able to shop and easily find the items they’re looking for. Plus, an organized food shelf helps staff notice when we’re running low on kitchen staples. We also see more people attending our hot meal programs during these cooler months. When we’re feeding hundreds of additional people daily, it’s all hands on deck. Learn about volunteering where you live.
4. Organize a food drive. It’s easy to do good and fight hunger alone, but it’s more fun with the help of others. Coordinate with local church groups or partner with office mates to collect non-perishables for a food shelf or meal service provider. The power of numbers can really come alive when those collection bins fill up fast. We recommend reaching out to your local Salvation Army and asking about their specific needs so donations are truly meeting the needs of our community.
5. Join our Walk to End Hunger team. The Salvation Army is partnering with many other Twin Cities nonprofits to fight hunger before giving thanks on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26 at Mall of America. The Walk to End Hunger is a family-friendly 5K fun walk. Even better, participants can choose to designate their funds raised to a nonprofit of their choice. Since its inception in 2008, the Walk to End Hunger has raised over $1.5 million to help support hunger relief organizations working to eliminate hunger in the Twin Cities metro area.
6. Pray. With God all things are possible. If you’re budget is tight and your time is limited, a quick prayer can do wonders for someone in need. Pray for our workers. Pray for those we serve. Pray for financial needs to be met, so we can continue to serve others. Whatever you choose to pray for, your prayer is appreciated.
7. Donate. We understand that this time of year gets busy and that schedules fill up fast. To make things easy, monetary donations to support our food programs are always appreciated. What’s more, donations are routed by ZIP code to help funds stay local within a local community to help hurting neighbors. Even a small donation can go a long way, only $20 can provide a day’s worth of nutritious meals to a family of four and $60 will provide that family with a week’s worth of groceries.