Did you know that September is Hunger Action Month? Throughout the month, we’ve been sharing ways that folks can take action to fight food insecurity in our community.
1) Support our Food Access Programs with a donation! Food insecurity affects many people in our community, including and especially families raising children. With school starting back up this month, did you know that caregivers are expected to spend a whopping $875 on back-to-school essentials such as school supplies, electronics, and clothing for their children? Every dollar that families have to spend on other necessities leaves less in the budget for groceries this Fall, forcing many caregivers to make difficult decisions about how to feed their family.
This is where FamilyWorks comes in.
FamilyWorks is dedicated to providing fresh, healthy food to individuals and families in our community who are experiencing hunger. We work hard to ensure we are well-stocked with high-quality, culturally-relevant foods such as produce from local farms, meat and vegetarian protein options, and fresh dairy products. Our Food Access Programs, including distribution at our brick-and-mortar locations, Mobile Food Pantry site visits, and Online Market & Home Grocery Delivery programs help thousands of families feed their children each month. For many families, FamilyWorks Food Access Programs prevent a time of stress from becoming a time of crisis.
2) Host a food drive, resource drive, or fundraiser! Each year, dozens of individuals and organizations come together to fundraise for FamilyWorks and collect donations such as food items and children’s clothing. Food drives in particular are an important source of groceries for our Food Access Programs and are a great way to rally your network to give back. With grocery prices rising 20% since 2020 and the average cost to feed a family of four in Seattle reaching $800 per month, food drives have become more important for our community than ever!
If you’re interested in hosting a drive but need some inspiration, we’ve got you covered! Here are some examples of drives & fundraisers you could host for FamilyWorks:
- Collect new or gently used children’s coats from friends and family in exchange for raffle entry to win your homemade baked goods (or other creation!)
- Host a food drive at your employer, gym, children’s school, etc.
- Ask friends and family to donate to FamilyWorks as a gift for your birthday, wedding, or other special occasion.
These are just some of the creative ways you can engage your network in the fight against hunger.
Setting up a fundraiser or drive is incredibly easy and FamilyWorks is here to help you every step of the way! We can provide printed materials about our programs, create personalized donation webpages for your campaign, and even promote your event on social media.
3) Become a FamilyWorks volunteer! Volunteers are the heart and soul of FamilyWorks. These fabulous community members are absolutely critical to FamilyWorks’ operations. Our volunteers provide essential support to all aspects of our programs, including our Wallingford Food Bank distribution, Playgroups, and Home Delivery, to name a few.
FamilyWorks volunteers spend a total of 750 hours per month organizing food, playing with little ones, stocking diapers, and much more. FamilyWorks offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities suited to any skillset. With food insecurity higher now than in peak pandemic years, we could use your help now more than ever!
We’d also like to share a couple of links with more information about food insecurity in the United States!
- Watch a clip from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver where he discusses school lunches and the importance of destigmatizing free lunch programs and ending student lunch debt.
- Learn more about the radical origins of the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program on Solid Ground’s Groundviews Blog!