To say that the Coronavirus has disrupted lives would be an understatement. Healthcare workers have been stretched to exhaustion while over 33 million Americans have lost their jobs during this economic downturn.
The need for food is at an all-time high as an estimated 54 million people in the US are facing food insecurity. Food pantry coordinators strain to keep up with the demand for food.
While attempting to solve hunger issues feels like a daunting endeavor, Creative Dining recently decided to help by donating to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
“Creative Dining wanted to be sure struggling families will have access to enough food in the coming year. We decided in lieu of corporate gifts and in honor of the hard work of our managers and team members, we would donate enough money to pay for 100,000 meals,” according to Jim Eickhoff, CEO at Creative Dining Services.
“We felt that now is the time to share our resources and do what we can to help hungry families.”
Creative Dining’s relationship with Feeding America spans decades as we often partner with local chapters across 14 states to donate food and time. But this year, Creative Dining wanted to increase its impact. If you are looking for ways to help during the pandemic and don’t know where to start, consider one of these three ways.
1. Porch Pick Up
Learn the tips and tricks of orchestrating a successful food drive from Move for Hunger. Check out this link and you’ll find food drive toolkits with flyers and other materials to make your drive successful. Some food relief organizations are willing to do a porch pick up of your donations right from your front door.
2. Food Pantry Volunteer
Consider being a volunteer at your local food pantry. You can find the one nearest you by typing in your zip code on the Feeding America website.
3. Support Hunger Relief Organizations
At Feeding America, every dollar you donate equals 10 meals. That means if you donate $5, you provide 50 meals for families who are struggling. Organizations can make your donation stretch because of their relationships with manufacturers. With their partners, they secure safe, healthy food that would otherwise go to waste.
The fallout of the pandemic is hard to predict, but the current reality is that families do not have access to enough food. Northwestern University reported that food insecurity has more than doubled (at 23% of households earlier this year) as a result of the COVID health emergency.
While the need increases, each of us can play a role with helping families have access to food.
