Take Action

 

Sleeping through my alarm two days in a row isn’t an accident. It’s a trend. Something about the morning light must be changing as the season begins to lean towards Fall. Sigh. I must adjust.

I saw this on my morning exploration of Twitter and thought, “Huh! I didn’t know that.”

GET READY! Tomorrow is #HungerActionDay! We have an amazing donor, the Ellicott City – Columbia Lions Club, matching DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR for ONE DAY ONLY in support of the #HoCoFoodBank. bit.ly/3Dp4w2Q

This was a tweet from yesterday. So, “tomorrow” is today, if you would like to have your donation matched by the Ellicott City-Columbia Lions Club.

I did not know that September was Hunger Action Month. It looks like Hunger Action Month was established in 2008 by a group called Feeding America.  

Hunger Action Month was established by Feeding America back in 2008, when it decided it was time for a nationwide push to get involved with the hunger crisis across the country. 

In Columbia/HoCo the CAC and the Howard County Food Bank are well known. Other, smaller groups have also worked to combat hunger in our community. Food for Tomorrow comes to mind, the group that has collected food donations during area Fourth of July parades. Since the onset of the pandemic other initiatives have arisen to meet the growing need to feed our neighbors: Columbia Community Care, food distribution by ION HoCo, and other groups I don’t even know about. 

Individual churches collect food for donation, civic groups, too. Schools now have food pantries. Outside the Unitarian Universalist Church in Columbia there is a Little Free Food Pantry. 

Hunger in Columbia/HoCo did not begin with the pandemic but it has been both broadened and deepened due to illness, job loss, business failures and cutbacks.

If you can help in some way, I hope you will. One does not have to be a large corporation or a millionaire to make a difference. It is always a benefit to be a friend who tells a friend, so that the gifts may be multiplied.

I’m happy to link you up the the  CAC donation page but I also want to put in a plug for Columbia Community Care. I continue to be amazed by this completely grassroots organization and the difference they have made during the pandemic.

One last thing. If you, like me, are contemplating the ever-growing challenge of hunger in our community and in our nation, you might want to listen to this TED talk by Jasmine Crowe:

What We’re Getting Wrong in the Fight to End Hunger

Tell me what you think.