The holidays are right around the corner and each one of us can do our part to help our neighbors in need starting this September with Hunger Action Month!
Below are 5 ways you can start to take action against hunger this month.
1. Donate food items to your local food pantry.
Creating a food donation box can be a fun family activity. Get kids involved with decorating donation boxes and helping to find items in the grocery store. Remember to check with the specific food pantry or food donation center you will be donating to - there may be certain items that are needed more than others.
Here is a list of our local food pantries with links to the most needed items!
2. Make a monetary donation.
Don't have time to go shopping? No problem. You can still make a HUGE difference. It only takes a few minutes online to make a monetary donation to help local community food pantries.
Did you know that many food pantries have partnerships? That means your money goes further. For example,
the D300 food pantry works with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, so every $1 donated = $8 worth of groceries!
Your donations will also be tax deductable. Another good reason to do something great for your community!
3. Donate your time and volunteer with a local food bank.
All food pantries need extra helping hands. Most food banks and pantries are kept running by volunteers. With more and more families in need every year, now is the time to check with your local food pantry to see how you can help!
The more help the better - Consider volunteering as a family adventure, or coordinate with a group of friends, or coordinate a volunteer event with your workplace!
4. Organize a food drive in person or online.
When organizing your food drive, consider partnering with local businesses to create multiple donation drop off points and to help support the awareness of local businesses doing good in our community.
Last year we were able to partner with three local businesses in our area to create strategic drop off points for donations, and we were able to collect a lot more for the D300 food pantry!
One of the businesses we partnered with last year was The Lakehouse Tattoo. The Lakehouse Tattoo hosts their own food drive each year in late October / early November. They have streamlined the donation process by creating an Amazon Wishlist for the local food pantry - making it SUPER easy for people to click and donate!
5. When planning your holiday parties this year, consider asking your guests to bring donations!
Whether it's a casual Friendsgiving, or a corporate Jingle & Mingle, consider asking your guests to bring food donation items, or add a link to your digital invitations that allow guests to donate directly to a local food bank.