New Year's resolutions tend to focus on self-improvement—losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising more—and while these are all worthy goals, this year let's also resolve to help improve the lives of those in need. Considering that nearly 50 million Americans struggle with hunger on a daily basis, I would say that supporting an organization like Feeding America, the country's leading hunger-relief charity, would be an excellent place to begin a generous resolution for 2010.
The holidays can be a particularly challenging time for those facing food insecurity, so Feeding America provides a variety of important ways for you to help families and individuals during these difficult months, including making donations, volunteering at a food bank or advocating for hunger relief. So before heading off to the gym for your new workout regimen, take a moment to watch this new video from Feeding America, and find out how you can help make 2010 a happy and healthy year for so many people. More
It's time to forget the inaccurate stereotypical image of America's hungry as long lines of mostly homeless men, winding down the block from a church's soup pantry entrance, waiting for their daily meal. The times have changed, drastically. The ongoing economic recession has slowly started to show limited signs of recovery on paper and on Wall Street, but these developments haven't reached millions of Americans. We live in an era with a 10% official national unemployment rate, coupled with rising costs of living and stagnant wages. Those shouldering the burden of this economic crisis are barely surviving. For many, they can't even afford basics for survival, such as food.
The Washington Post is reporting that the federal government's latest statistics show the number of Americans who are food insecure (they lacked regular access to food) increased last year 49 million people and 17 million of them were children. More alarming is the increase in the number of children who were just plain hungry reached 1.1 million. An alarming 21% of all households with children low or very low (i.e. hungry) food security. Those waiting for a daily meal are people of all stripes, ages, races and geographic backgrounds.
This report begs the question: how are these people surviving? The federal government isn't able to fully fill this gap. Their much-need anti-hunger programs such as food-stamps, school lunches and/or WIC (Women, Infant and Children) only serve about 50% of those in need. This is where we all come into the picture. It turns out that last year, 4.8 million households used private food pantries, up from 3.9 million the previous year. Private food pantries, rely on people like you and me to survive.
Feeding America, a leading hunger-relief organization has had increased demand over the past year, coinciding with the report's findings. The organization, which has a network of 200 food banks, provided food to 25 million people last year. Most of these volunteer-run places are refuges to people who would otherwise go hungry. With the increased demand, more support is needed. Wherever you live in the US, whether it's a big cities, small towns or suburban community, there are hungry people who need your help. This is a problem that can be solved but it requires all of our participation as an volunteer, donor and/or advocate. Let's make sure that all of America is fed today.
Santa Cruz Skate Shop owner Danny Keith is on a mission to end hunger in his community by energizing young skaters to give back. Since 2004, Keith's organization, Grind Out Hunger, has partnered with local schools to educate youth about hunger in their backyard and encourage students to donate food.
Every year, a number of schools take part in a friendly competition to see which student body can collect the most food donations, with the top 3 contenders sharing $1,200 in Santa Cruz Skate Shop gift certificates. Using innovative, student-driven projects, the more than 50 participating schools were able to collect 150,000 pounds of food in 2007--and the organization's reach continues to grow.
In the vein of other skateboard nonprofits, Grind Out Hunger has partnered with Skateboards.com and Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest) to get food donations to families in need. A recipient of Feeding America's Generation Next award, Keith hopes the program will serve as a model for food banks around the country to engage local youth, especially those interested in skateboarding. He is currently working on a DVD and media kit that will eventually be distributed nationally, and has designed a Grind Out Hunger skateboard deck (left) with all proceeds going to the rapidly growing organization.
"I enjoy being able to bring the message to the action sports youth in our area," Keith says. "I feel that if informed kids have the biggest hearts and love a competition."
Last night Beyonce paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the BET awards, calling him her "teacher and hero." But I have a feeling Beyonce is a hero to many people and not just for her music. She recently made a PSA for Feeding America's Helping Hand campaign:
I am all in favor of Feeding America but I do have my reservations about processed and packaged food like Hamburger Helper. More
The Food Bank For New York City is an amazing organization that procures, stores and distributes more than 50 million of pounds of food every year - helping to provide 300,000 free meals a day for New Yorkers in need. If you've been thinking about getting involved with a program that is helping people through these difficult times, this would be a great place to start. For over 25 years they have been performing miracles for the approximately 4 million New Yorkers who have difficulty obtaining food, a devastating number that is likely to go up as the economic crisis forces more families into dire circumstances. In addition to distributing food to a network of nearly 1,000 assistance programs throughout the five boroughs, The Food Bank also manages student nutrition programs, food stamp outreach, a Community Supported Agriculture program, disaster relief, a Senior Food Program, and so much more. More
The Soloist is orchestrating change with food banks across the country in a campaign with Feeding America and League of American Orchestras. These two organizations have joined forces for a large-scale national food drive on March 27th and 28th. Here is a new video about the project:
Necessity, and perhaps joblessness, is the mother of all invention, which is why after being laid off twice in one year, architect John Morefield, set up a booth offering architectural advice for a nickel in hopes of helping to rebuild the local economy. Architecture 5¢, John's brilliantly clever project, provides an accessible venue for anyone to ask questions about archtitecture, from simple home repairs, to complex design strategies, which in turn will hopefully create a ripple effect when people begin their projects and hire local contractors, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and so on. John hopes to expand the project nationwide, and has even been fielding international inquiries, but ultimately his goal is to inspire sustainable and quality business on a local level, by bringing:
innovative, sustainable, and budget conscious design to those who thought they couldn't afford to work with a residential designer, but deserve the best; in service, and environmentally responsive design.
New York-based artist Yusef Ramelize is going homeless for one week to raise awareness and money for the Coalition for the Homeless. To prepare for this admirable project Yusef interviewed homeless and formerly homeless men and women and will continue to speak with people throughout the week and eventually post more videos on his site, Homeless For One Week. Here he is before beginning the week:
I think this is a wonderful way to bring attention to the growing number of homeless individuals across the country, especially now as even working professionals are finding themselves forced to go to food banks to survive. takepart by supporting the Coalition for the Homeless using the widget below. More
Now there's an even better reason to being part of the AT&T network than just getting an iPhone: the Dallas-based communications company has created a text donation campaign which lets customers donate $5 to foodbanks nationwide. From now until March 1st when users text the word “SHARE” to 20222, $5 will be added to their bill and matched by AT&T to benefit Share our Strength, a non-profit organization battling childhood hunger. The company should be applauded for launching such a generous fundraiser, especially when the economic crisis is pushing more families into dire circumstances. (To learn more, check out the New York Times' Neediest Cases Fund). Bill Shore, founder and executive director of Share Our Strength says:
In this economy, charitable donations are usually one of the first expenses to be eliminated...yet at the same time, more people need our help.
AT&T Pioneers, the companies employee and retiree volunteer program, will also be launching a food drive to benefit food banks around the county. The program will also be joined by the Communications Workers of America to help combat childhood hunger. I'm excited to see that these companies are doing more than just talking the talk, but are committing themselves to help solve our hunger crisis.takepart by helping Share Our Strength put an end to childhood hunger, and if you're an AT&T customer join the texting campaign.Photo: AT&T's Flickr Photostream
In the mad, gift-buying chaos that precedes the holidays, it's important to keep in mind those who are less concerned about getting an iPhone, and more focused on staying warm and dry through these wintry days. And given the current economic chill and housing crisis, increasing numbers of people are finding themselves jobless and homeless. So, this holiday season, as you scurry around spreading cheer to friends and family, take a moment to share a bit of warmth with those in need. Here, in no particular order, are the top ten ways to help the homeless this holiday season:
You can drop off gently used clothing or other goods at places like Goodwill or The Salvation Army, and if you have a lot to give, some will even schedule a pick-up. Also, look for local charities that often have collection sites around this time of year, such as Big Brother/Big Sister. More
I recently saw SILKWOOD for the first time and was really blown away - such a powerful film that's still relevant to today's issues. And there's Meryl...
New Year's resolutions tend to focus on self-improvement—losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising more—and while these are all worthy goals, this year let's also resolve to help improve the lives of those in need. Considering that nearly 50 million Americans struggle with hunger on a daily basis, I would say that supporting an organization like 
Santa Cruz Skate Shop owner Danny Keith is on a mission to end hunger in his community by energizing young skaters to give back. Since 2004, Keith's organization, 
