National Charity Spotlight: Feeding America

Have you ever tried to find a national charity with a focus on helping the needy here in America?  Have you ever wondered what more you could do for those a little closer to home?  Your neighbors even?  If so, you may want to learn more about Feeding America.  

There are many charities and organizations that work to help, assist, teach and uplift people in other countries.  I believe this to be incredible and often support such.  Shelf Reliance's charity, Thriving Nations is one such organization.  As I work to find worthy causes that we can support, I'm certain that many of them will fall into this category.

I would also like to find and highlight national charities with a more local focus. So, in honor of September being "Hunger Action Month," I'd like to tell you a bit about Feeding America.  Their mission is to:

 Feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

Chances are they have a local food bank near you, and this month they are all working to provide simple way that you can help feed hungry Americans.  Put your zip code in here and you can find out some information about the hungry in your area.  Here is what I found about my area (San Diego county):
   
     *Food Insecurity Rate: 14.8%
     *Number of people that are hungry: 441,730
     *Contact information for a local food bank and ways to get involved locally.


Here are a few small snippets from the Feeding America website:

Hunger exists everywhere in America. It does not matter if you live in a urban, suburban or rural setting - hunger has no boundaries. 

Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. We are ranked as one of Worth magazine’s best charities and have been identified as one of the Top 10 Most Efficient Charities by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, with 98 percent of all product and financial donations received by Feeding America going toward helping Americans struggling with hunger.

Our mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

As I browsed through their website, I found a story about a family; a regular, normal family, in my area who has benefited from Feeding America's services.  I thought I'd share it:



There are real people all around us who are in need.  This is especially so in today's economy.  The program / service that Feeding America offers that touched me the most was child hunger.  I can't imagine the pain a parent must face as they struggle to feed their children.  Feeding American says this:

Although the United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, millions of children in our nation are food insecure, meaning they are either currently hungry or nearing hunger. Children who are undernourished are at greater risk for serious health, social, and educational problems. Today, many public food-assistance programs and private organizations strive to meet the nutritional needs of vulnerable children, but more needs to be done to fight child hunger. 

How to Help:
     (1)  One really simple way is to share this video on facebook.  They are trying to reach 1 million people by September 30th. 
     (2) If you are interested, you can also learn more about Feeding America and how to get involved with their cause.  Anyone can help.  They accept monetary donations, fundraising help, volunteers, or food donations.

Need help yourself?
  Find out what Feeding America can do to assist you.

I am an independent consultant for Shelf Reliance; a company with a mission to empower others to become self reliant, prosperous and charitable.  As such, the goal of my personal website is the same.