It's APRIL FOOD DAY

Today is April Food Day and it’s no joke.

More and more people in our country are going hungry because they have lost their jobs, their benefits have ended, they can’t find a job and have no place left to turn but to their local food bank. But the nation’s food banks are stretched to the limit because of the increased number of people needing their services.

You might think that none of your friends are going hungry, but I read a comment on a piece NPR did about a photography exhibit about hunger in America, and think it could apply to any one of us:

…a dear friend and community member crossed over. At his one year crossing remembrance, stories began to come out and I realized with great sorrow, our friend went hungry. I feel sad when I think of it, that our dear friend who gave so much and was so generous in spirit and friendship was hungry and we never knew that. How did we not make it our business to know how it was with him we loved so?

Please make a donation to Feeding America, or your local food bank, and count yourself as one of the lucky ones if you’re not going to bed hungry every night. Feeding America has set up a special URL for April Food Day so they can see how much we’ve donated.

If you’re a blogger, tweeter, facebooker or have an e-mail list, please share this address. Let me know if you’ve posted about April Food Day, and we will add you to the list of participants on the April Food Day site.

Thank you very much.

Story on NPR About Hunger

Interestingly, there was a story about hunger in America this afternoon on NPR. You can listen to it here.

Photographer Michael Nye has been documenting the faces and voices of hunger — those who are newly hungry, others who have experienced hunger all their lives, and some who have known it temporarily but unforgettably.

His new exhibition, "About Hunger & Resilience," is on display at San Antonio's Witte Museum.

April Food Day Details – Are you in?

April 1 is just two days away and we’re preparing for the second annual April Food Day blog event. This year, Chris Cox, Editor of Easy & Elegant Life, and I hope that people will post the link on twitter and facebook, and share the information with their friends and colleagues.

Feeding America has provided April Food Day with a special link that will track the giving, and so we will know what an impact it’s had.

Here are some facts to use in writing about April Food Day:

• Feeding America is annually providing food to 37 million Americans, including 14 million children. This is an increase of 46 percent over 2006, when we were feeding 25 million Americans, including 9 million children, each year.
• That means one in eight Americans now rely on Feeding America for food and groceries.
• Feeding America's nationwide network of food banks is feeding 1 million more Americans each week than we did in 2006.
• Thirty-six percent of the households served have at least one person working.
• More than one-third of client households report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.
• The number of children the Feeding America network serves has increased by 50 percent since 2006.
• Feeding America food banks provide food and groceries to 33,500 food pantries, 4,500 soup kitchens and 3,600 emergency shelters.
• 68 percent of pantries, 42 percent of soup kitchens, and 15 percent of emergency shelters rely solely on volunteers and have no paid staff.
• 55 percent, are faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious organizations; 33 percent are other types of non-profit organizations.

There are several important links to include:

• Feeding America’s website
• The link to their April Food Day donation page
• My e-mail
• Chris’s e-mail

Last but not least, please let either Chris or me know that you’ve posted about April Food Day, so that we can add you to our list of participants. We had about 150 bloggers last year and would love to double that in 2010!

Thanks for helping us make a difference!

Meg & Chris

April Food Day 2010

We are gearing up for April Food Day 2010, and hope that you will join us in our fight against hunger in America.

We will be adding details on this year's campaign in a few days, and also providing a specific donation link to Feeding America, the national food bank.