Over the weekend, my husband and I marched in the Walk Against Hunger event, organized by Foodshare of Hartford, CT. It was the 31st annual walk and more than 4,000 people turned out to raise money and to raise awareness of the hunger in our own community.

I was honored to walk on the team of St. Francis Hospital, who sponsored the first hospital-based food bank in the USA. Started in 1976 by Joan Dauber, the food bank now supports over 1,100 families each month, and distributed more than 134 tons of food last year.

When I think of hunger, I think of starving children in Africa, not in my own backyard. It’s hard to fathom that people in the United States, the land of plenty, go without food and do not know where their next meal is coming from.

Hunger is an invisible problem, so most people are unaware of how large a problem it is. And yet, hunger is a problem with a solution. And it’s in our collective best interest to solve this problem.

Here’s what I learned about this very real problem from Feeding America’s web site:

• Hunger in America exists for over 50 million people. That is 1 in 6 of the U.S. population – including more than 1 in 5 children.
• 16 million people (including 3 million rural households) are living in food-insecure households. School lunch programs help, but they do not solve the whole problem.
• Lack of adequate nutrition affects not only children’s physical growth, but also their cognitive and behavioral development as well.
• 49 million Americans don’t have dependable, consistent access to enough food due to limited money and resources.
  • Test your knowledge about hunger in the USA at the Feeding America web site – http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/quiz.aspx

What can be done about the hunger problem?

For years, I’ve wanted to work in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. But somehow when the holiday comes around, I default to my normal routine of overeating and celebrating with my own friends and families. I have donated food to the annual Turkey Drive, and brought a bag of groceries to a friend’s party who was collecting for a local food pantry. That’s been the extent of my deeds to end the hunger issue in this country.

I have recurring thoughts about ending hunger, usually during the blessing said before our family’s evening meal. I say to myself (and sometimes I voice it out loud), “I wish everyone in the world could be eating the amazing meal we are enjoying right now.” Sometimes I will attempt to work this problem by envisioning how I could make that happen. I give up on that idea pretty quickly after the logistics become overwhelming.

But this weekend, I learned some things and met some people who are working hard to make that happen – to create food-secure families and communities. To end hunger locally. Most of these agencies have been working on this problem and providing this vital service for decades.

1. There are food bank networks all across the United States. Their job is to secure food, raise funds, distribute food, and advocate and inspire. They can’t do it alone. They need our year-round help.
   • Check out what food banks exist in your community and call to find out how you can help.
2. SNAP program (or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which was formerly called the US Food Stamp program) provides financial support for families and individuals to purchase groceries. They now use electronic debit cards, so it’s not as embarrassing to pay for the food at the check out counter.
   • Consider becoming a volunteer for SNAP and helping people fill out the lengthy application so that they can get this important nutritional help.
3. WIC (which stands for Women, Infants and Children) provides funds for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.
   • Call and email your state senators and house representatives advising them that you support WIC and don’t want to see funding cut for this important safety net.
4. Children’s Backpack Nutrition Program. Here’s how it works: children receive a backpack containing 3 – 4 pounds of food each Friday afternoon. They return the backpacks on Monday morning to be cleaned and re-stocked for the following Friday’s distribution. Backpacks contain a variety of ready-to-eat or easy-to prepare items for snacks and meals. This way, the children have food to eat over the weekend until they can return to their next expected meal – the school lunch program.
   1. See the WishList of food item donations needed by Hands On Hartford – If you can’t bring food by, consider making a financial donation. I just sent them $25 from my PayPay account.
5. Tip your waitstaff generously. It’s not about the service, it’s about compassion for others. You might also consider paying for the groceries of the person behind you in line at the store, if you sense that they may be struggling financially. These ideas were shared by my Soroptimist friend, Colleen. When Colleen sees a struggling waitress, she will leave a 100% tip. It is a practice that she has adopted since she was given an important hand-up thirty years ago with a Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Award. It’s her way of Paying-it-Forward and celebrating the blessings that she has in her life.

Lastly – it’s about respect

In addition to providing the food and financial support,we must ensure that we are offer our respect to families who are living in food insecure households. It’s easy to jump to false conclusions as to why they don’t have food. It’s easy to criticize the government for spending too much money on these “welfare” programs. But I imagine that if we got closer to the program, and perhaps walked in their shoes for just one week, we’d come away with a very different attitude and perspective.

Hunger sucks. Good nutrition is essential for all people to work, learn, live and contribute to society.

One thing we can all do to help solve this problem is to eliminate judgement towards people who suffer from food insecurity. We need to give them our respect, our help and need to serve them with dignity through our volunteering, advocacy, financial support and more.

I remember a personal story told by a professional speaker at the  National Speaker Association. She and her husband work at a soup kitchen every Saturday. The first time she went, she was thrilled with the experience. As they drove home, she told her husband “I love feeding people.” Her husband responded, “You feed dogs. You serve people.” The leadership attitude of service to others is one we all need to adopt when it comes to helping our neighbors, our community and our nation end hunger.

Put these ideas into action

Increase your awareness of the problem of hunger in your own community. Be mindful of your preconceived notions and judgements of people who need to use public resources like food banks, soup kitchens, food stamps and free lunch programs.

Redirect your energy from criticism to activism by getting involved in your local food bank or soup kitchen. Show your gratitude for your good fortune to live in a food-secure home by helping those who struggle with the most basic of human needs: food, clothing and shelter.

Let the acts of helping and serving others feed your soul!