Thank you to everyone who checked out information from Feeding America about how to be involved in stopping hunger in America. If you haven’t checked out the number of people in your state struggling with hunger I encourage you to investigate. Seeing the number will shock you. The good news is that together we can help make the numbers go down.
This week I want to talk to you about a very simple thing you can do to help the hunger crisis. It requires zero money. If you have a heart you can do this.
Be Kind.
One of the very first posts that I wrote about being on food stamps was called Food Stamp Etiquette. As someone who was dependent on help from strangers, friends, and public assistance I knew how far kindness could go.
And kindness is EASY. Do you know the best way to be kind to someone on food stamps? Be patient.
My friend Liz, who was an early guest poster in the In Times Like These guest series wrote about how she shows kindness in the grocery store when she notices someone is using WIC vouchers to make purchases. (hint: it involves patience)
Kindness can extent to places outside of the grocery store. You can also show kindness when talking about hunger with others. If you hear someone make an uneducated jab about people who are on benefits consider sharing with them information with real statistics:
• Over 50 million people in America are struggling to eat.
• That is 1 in every 6 people.
• 16.7 million children lived in food insecure households in 2011
Feeding America has a fantastic page of “Hunger Facts”.
This is not an us and them issue. This is not democrat or republican. This is about ALL of us. We all have the ability to help.
You can start here: Help Solve Hunger
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I love this post. Such excellent advice!