September is Hunger Action Month!

As you may know, September is Hunger Action Month — a nationwide effort to mobilize communities to take action and help end hunger for good. And the need for your time, activism and financial support has never been greater.

Take Action to Help End Hunger

We all know how challenging the last 18 months have been. More than 240,000 Oregonians have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Nearly 1 in 5 have faced food insecurity in the pandemic’s wake. Thousands of us have lost friends and loved ones.

The Oregon Food Bank Network worked with nearly 1.7 million community members over the course of the past year — that’s almost double what we saw in 2019. And the current surge in Delta Variant cases means that we’re nowhere near past this public health crisis, let alone the long-term economic effects.

That’s why this year, throughout Hunger Action Month, we’re highlighting the critical work ahead to ensure our communities can emerge stronger from this crisis. Each week, we’ll emphasize a key aspect of Oregon Food Bank’s systemic approach — and the key actions we can all take to help end hunger and its root causes.

• Kicking off the month, we’ll share some of the many ways we’re working to build values-based networks that increase economic, racial and gender justice. We’ll introduce you to some of our amazing partners and allies who are helping to ensure all Oregonians have access to the resources we need to thrive.
  
• In week two, we’ll shine a light on the many ways the Oregon Food Bank community is increasing food security in the short- and long-term — capped off with our virtual State of Hunger Address on September 17 (I hope you’ll tune in live!).
  
• In the third week of September, we’ll turn the focus inward to the transformational work we’re doing to make sure our organization reflects the society we’re working toward — and your role in that work.
  
• And we’ll round out Hunger Action Month with our critical efforts to influence decision-making at the local and state level. Because we know we can’t end hunger until we address the policies and systems that drive it — and we have some exciting news about community-led efforts to set and achieve our policy goals.

You and I know that hunger was a crisis before the pandemic — and COVID-19 has only worsened the existing disparities and inequities in our communities. And yet my heart is continually full with the incredible outpouring of support, creativity and action the Oregon Food Bank community has offered to meet this crisis head-on.

This past year is yet another reminder that there’s nothing this community can’t achieve — that, together, we can end hunger for good. And I look forward to celebrating Hunger Action Month with you.

Check out our online action center for more information and ways you can get involved during Hunger Action Month and help end hunger for good.