Have you ever noticed there is a food awareness theme for every day? National Tempura Day is January 7th and a personal favorite, National Cheese Lover’s Day is January 20th. And if you are curious, Mustard Day passed you up on August 6th, but you still have time to celebrate National Pancake Day on September 26th.
Many neighbors have very little to celebrate.
All these days to celebrate food while every single day there are people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. These individuals are deemed “food insecure,” meaning they don’t have consistent access to enough nutritious food necessary to fuel a healthy lifestyle. They are the neighbors Houston Food Bank serves.
Food insecurity can live next door. A simple message to your elected officials lets them know that no one should ever worry about their next meal because of financial hardships.
In fact, they aren’t just our neighbors; they are your neighbors too. They are hardworking individuals and families, they are seniors who retired but then had to take care of a grandchild who would otherwise end up in foster care. Many are children who go to school and don’t eat because they are made to feel shame about their unpaid school meal debt.
Their financial success also impacts yours and the larger economy. When people can’t eat nutritious food we can’t have a strong workforce. Staff positions go unfilled and businesses suffer. Our graduation rates continue to fall because kids can’t learn when they don’t have access to nutritious food. And that challenges our future workforce. And, when we only rely on food banks to help we ignore the positive financial impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has with every $1.00 spent in SNAP equaling $1.50 in economic impact at local retailers.
What can you do to help?
While these facts aren’t as celebratory as National Pancake Day, the good news is you have the power to make a change. You can elevate your voice and the voices of everyone you know by taking action to let your elected officials know that no one should ever wonder where their next meal is coming from just because they have financial hardships.
Check out our Houston Food Bank Action Center to learn more about the policy issues affecting hunger relief and how you can join our advocacy efforts to provide food for better lives.
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Hunger Action Day is September 23rd.
Mark that day as a target by which you will ask everyone in your personal and professional networks to visit our Advocacy Action Center and let their elected officials know the change they expect to see. The action center has suggested messaging and easy ways to find out who represents you. Make 9-23-22 a day to remember…then you can reward yourself by having a plate of pancakes.