Take Action: 182,000 Mainers Are Facing Hunger

September is Hunger Action Month

For Hunger Action Month® this September, Good Shepherd Food Bank will join Feeding America and other network member food banks to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of people facing the impossible choice of hunger. Food banks around the country are working to make a real and lasting impact on food insecurity in their communities, and they are asking for the public’s support.

“Hunger Action Month is a nationwide campaign designed to bring attention to the reality of food insecurity in the United States,” stated Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank. “We’re inviting you to take action by wearing orange throughout September, use the hashtag #HungerActionMonth on your social posts to bring light to food insecurity, or sign up for a volunteer shift at our two distribution centers located in Auburn and Hampden.”

September marks the 14th year Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a nationwide network of 200 food banks, including Good Shepherd Food Bank, and 60,000 partner food pantries and meal programs, has organized the annual call to action. This year’s campaign presents the impossible choices that millions of Americans must make between food and other basic needs.

“For many, a daily meal is a simple choice of what to eat,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “For people facing hunger, a daily meal poses a very different type of choice. It’s often an impossible decision between food or other crucial needs, such as electricity, childcare, or medicine. Nobody should be forced to make a choice to go hungry. With the public’s support, we can come together to help people achieve long-term food security, so they no longer have to make such tough decisions.”

During the month of September, people across Maine can get involved in the movement by learning, committing, and speaking up about ways to ending hunger.

To learn more about Good Shepherd Food Bank and other ways you can get involved for Hunger Action Month, please visit www.feedingmaine.org/ham.