HOW WILL YOU CHOOSE TO END HUNGER? – SEPTEMBER 2
Author: Claire Hurd
For many, a daily meal is a simple choice of what to eat. But for nearly 1 in 8 people in our community, a daily meal poses a very different type of choice. It is often an impossible choice between food and other crucial needs, such as electricity, childcare or medicine. There is no luxury of what to eat. The choice is IF they eat.
Food should not be an impossible choice.
This September marks the kick-off for Hunger Action Month. Hunger Action Month is the Feeding America network’s annual nationwide campaign designed to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of hunger on both a local and national level. Second Harvest is a dedicated hunger relief partner of the Feeding America network, and we are asking you to take action during Hunger Action Month.
Hunger Action Month is a time to come together to take action to end hunger. You can choose to donate, advocate, volunteer, or raise awareness.
How will you choose to end hunger?
LEARN
Learn about hunger in your community Hunger & Poverty in the United States | Map the Meal Gap (feedingamerica.org)
COMMIT
Donate donate – 2nd Harvest (2-harvest.org)
Fundraise host a fundraiser – 2nd Harvest (2-harvest.org)
Sign the Pledge Campaign to End Hunger | Feeding America
Volunteer volunteer – 2nd Harvest (2-harvest.org)
SPEAK UP
Tell Congress: End Military Hunger Tell Congress: No U.S. service member should struggle to put food on the table! – Feeding America
Fill the Plate: Tell Congress Why Hunger Matters Feeding America
Nobody should be forced to choose between food and medicine, or food and electricity, or food and any other basic need. You have a choice. Choose to end hunger.
We asked our friends at Gesa Credit Union,
our Hunger Action Month sponsors, how they plan to take action this September and Gesa’s Community Relations Specialist, Rafael Saucedo said:
“To raise awareness about food insecurity and mobilize the public to take action, we’re inviting people to donate food, donate time, and donate money during Hunger Action Month. We will be doing this by:
- Collecting non-perishable food items at each of our branch locations all month long.
- Organizing team member volunteer days with Food Lifeline in Seattle and Second Harvest in Spokane and Pasco. At Gesa, we want to make sure that hands follow the dollars by being active participants in our communities. We encourage everyone to take some time to volunteer this month at Food Lifeline, Second Harvest, or a food pantry near you.
- Investing $50,000 that our partner organizations – Food Lifeline and Second Harvest – will leverage as matching challenges in order to generate awareness and raise additional funds. One dollar provides food for five meals, which means that even small contributions can make a difference.”
Gesa is truly walking the walk with these outstanding steps they’re taking towards fighting local hunger. We’re so thankful to have this dedicated community partner join us in raising hunger awareness this month.
If you’re interested in using Gesa’s gift match this month, click here.
And remember to tag us on social media so we can share and interact with your Hunger Action Month activities!
From The Kitchen: Cooking with dried beans, lentils and peas – March 8
Have you ever received dried goods, such as beans, lentils or split peas, and felt stumped on how to use them? Cooking with dried goods can seem daunting, especially if you’re used to using canned varieties. However, dried beans, lentils and split peas are affordable and often found in food pantries, so cooking with them is a great skill to gain confidence in. Continue reading for some tips and tricks on how to prepare dried ingredients and gain some cooking inspiration from Second Harvest recipes that utilize them.
National Agriculture Month: Celebrating Ag Partners and Friends – March 1
We take immense pleasure throughout the year in celebrating our agriculture partners and friends. But during National Agriculture Month, we take extra measures to recognize their continued support, contributions and commitment to Second Harvest’s mission of serving people facing hunger.
Our ag partners range from small, local farms to large industry farms, livestock operations, and the processing and manufacturing plants that support them.
Why I support Second Harvest: A donor’s story – February 23
Nothing is more important than having food on the table. To state the obvious, food—like shelter—is something without which we cannot survive. Second Harvest thus quite literally provides a lifeline for those whom my wife and I cannot feed directly. And it has done so for the nearly 40 years that we have supported Second Harvest. During this period we have seen not even a hint that their mission is diminishing in importance. On the contrary, the organization seems to be throwing out more and more lifelines to those in our midst who are in danger of sinking.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
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