Blog #26: National Hunger Awareness Day

June 6th is the annual day to raise awareness for the hunger and malnutrition that is ongoing in the United States. This day is to help people take action, donate their time or resources, or just help out by supporting organizations or volunteering. 

In the state of Georgia according to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, every one in seven people (or roughly 15%) are food insecure, every one in five children (about 20%) are food insecure, and every one in ten seniors over the age of 60 (about 10%) are food insecure. On a national level, those numbers are actually quite similar to Georgia. Since I am only licensed to practice dietetics in the state of Georgia, I will only talk about this particular state. I urge you to look into other state’s food insecure statistics if you are not in Georgia.

People can donate food to the food bank, or they can volunteer by packing boxes of food or distributing foods to the community. Helping out at soup kitchens, food pantries, or local churches can also be helpful. 

I talked about SNAP benefits in blog post #12 (go read that blog post for more info!). SNAP is a great program that can help people who are food insecure. There is also Meals on Wheels, among other food organizations that can help deliver food to people who need it. 

I challenge you and your family to volunteer at your local food shelter. I also urge you to openly talk about and help others who need assistance applying to organizations, like SNAP. 

Link to the Atlanta Community Food Bank: https://www.acfb.org/facts-and-stats/