VENTURA COUNTY, CA - The concept is simple but the potential pay-off is huge. If every single individual, family and business makes the personal commitment to take action to battle hunger during the month of September, FOOD Share, Ventura County’s regional food bank, can continue feeding more than 74,500 people who visit its 180 pantry partners each month.
Organized by Feeding America, Hunger Action Month is a nationwide campaign to mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger, and promote ways for everyone to get involved with the movement to solve it.
“While our efforts to raise food and funds donations, and implement strategies on how to feed the line today and shorten the line for tomorrow are year-round, we take this opportunity to thank our partners who have dedicated endless hours toward our poverty-alleviation work,” said Bonnie Weigel, president and CEO of FOOD Share. “Without them, we would not be able to achieve the work we do to deliver food and services to the 74,500 people who depend on FOOD Share each and every month.”
FOOD Share relies on community support and is currently restocking its shelves in preparation for the upcoming holiday season when more people turn to local food banks for assistance.
How to Take Action for Hunger Action Month:
• Hunger Action Month proclamation with FOOD Share and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. in the Ventura County Government Center’s Hall of Administration
• Vote for FOOD Share to help Ventura County’s regional food bank win a $60,000 funding grant from Walmart’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change campaign.
• Finding simple ways at work and home to help feed the hungry, like hosting a neighborhood canned food drive with your kids, having potlucks and asking guests to bring canned food donations, or pack their lunches then donate the funds it would have cost to dine out to FOOD Share.
• Stroll the sidewalks of Ventura Harbor Village for the Ventura Art and Street Painting Festival the weekend of Sept. 13-14, and enjoy the vibrant displays of chalk art, painting, photography, pottery, sculptures and more. The signature FOOD Share event will feature more than 50 regional artists. All event net proceeds will benefit FOOD Share.
For more information on Ventura County’s hunger alleviation efforts for Hunger Action Month, visit www.foodshare.com.
About FOOD Share:
More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura County’s regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 10 million pounds of food annually from its distribution site; more than 180 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens; as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Share’s programs provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include: KIDS Share, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market, SoCal Gas CARE Program, ART Share and more. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about FOOD Share, visit www.foodshare.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.
