5 Easy Ways to Fight Hunger this Hunger Action Month

This August, we here at Food Bank For New York City are partnering with our friends at HungerMitao to raise money in support of our mission to fight hunger across the five boroughs. To learn more about HungerMitao Month (and how YOU can get involved with this important work) keep on reading below! What is HungerMitao? HungerMitao is a volunteer-driven, grassroots movement focused on raising awareness about hunger in the United States, particularly as it affects members of the Indian American community. For founders Raj G. & Aradhana (Anna) Asava, the movement is as much about eradicating food insecurity as it is about unifying Indian Americans in the fight against hunger. Since its launch three years ago, HungerMitao (which translates to “wipe out hunger”) has raised over 35 million meals for low-income families through the Feeding America network of food banks, including clients we serve right here in NYC. To learn more about how Raj and Anna came up with the idea to start HungerMitao, check out our video interview with them below! Why August? HungerMitao Month is held every August in celebration of India’s Independence (with the official day of Independence falling on August 15). Since the goal of the movement is to engage and unite Indian Americans in the fight against hunger, founders Raj & Anna Asava have found it to be the perfect time to galvanize and activate for change. But this year, the timing of HungerMitao Month has taken on an even deeper and more earnestly felt meaning. The truth is that many Americans are still reeling from the economic fallout of COVID-19. In New York City alone, food insecurity has increased by more than 44 percent due to the pandemic, which means that nearly 1.6 million New Yorkers are currently facing hunger. To help, Raj & Anna are offering a $10,000 challenge match throughout August 31, which means that your participation in the campaign can go twice as far in helping to nourish our neighbors in need. How can you get Involved? Thankfully, it’s easy to get involved in HungerMitao Month. You can either donate directly to our campaign, host an online fundraiser for your community, or help us raise awareness about issues of food insecurity and poverty in New York City. To learn more, click this link.

Food Bank For New York City’s 2022 Pride Month theme is #ProudlyFed. For us, this means we not only serve the estimated 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ New Yorkers struggling to put food on the table, but that we do it with joy, love, and pride. We also recognize that food insecurity in the LGBTQ+ community is often compounded by things like workplace discrimination, healthcare inequality, and housing insecurity. A citywide survey conducted in 2017 found that over 18 percent of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers had experienced homelessness, with these numbers soaring up to 60 percent for individuals who identified as Black, Hispanic, transgender, or gender non-conforming. Over 20 percent of respondents also reported that they had been denied a promotion, not hired, or been forced to resign from a job due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. To address these diverse and varied challenges, we partner with and distribute food to community-based organizations that not only feed our LGBTQ+ neighbors, but work to provide them with free legal services, educational opportunities, healthcare enrollment assistance, and nutrition workshops. One such organization is Make the Road New York, a Food Bank member agency that serves immigrant, working-class, and transgender communities throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Make the Road doesn’t shy away from difference; on the contrary, the group finds power in bringing together New Yorkers from all different walks of life to advocate for collective change. To learn more about the group’s unique approach to service, we spoke with Mateo Guerrero-Tabares, the Trans Justice and Leadership Program Manager at Make the Road New York. Mateo pictured at Make the Road New York’s office in Queens. Photo credit: Feeding America. Mateo found his way to Make the Road in 2010 after arriving in New York City as an undocumented minor. He began his journey as both a client and volunteer, receiving aid from the organization to adjust his immigration status and stay permanently in the United States. Make the Road quickly became a “political home” for Mateo and was one of the first public spaces in which he felt comfortable embracing his identity as a transgender man. As he told us: “It was very special to be able to say, ‘Mateo, he/they pronouns’ and be uplifted and cared for in such a beautiful way.” Volunteers working the weekly food distribution at Make the Road New York. Photo credit: Feeding America. Now, in his role as the organization’s Trans Justice and Leadership Program Manager, he’s working to bring that same level of solidarity and support to the immigrant and transgender New Yorkers he serves, especially when it comes to providing them with reliable access to fresh, nutritious food. In fact, Mateo started a special “bike brigade” at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver groceries to nearly 400 families a week. It was a way to sustain the sense of togetherness that has long fueled Make the Road’s mission to build a more equitable future for New York City’s most marginalized residents. “I want our members to be able to define what it means to exist in New York — and not just survive — but have a dignified life,” he said. “That sense of pride comes from a place of resiliency and community.” Mateo pictured at Make the Road New York’s office in Queens. Photo credit: Feeding America. We couldn’t be prouder to partner with and provide food to organizations like Make the Road New York that put our LGBTQ+ neighbors first. For more on how we serve these New Yorkers now and throughout the year, click this link. You can also donate directly to our Pride Month fundraising campaign to help raise crucial funds for organizations just like Make the Road. Give here. *** A special thanks to Feeding America for partnering with us on a suite of stories featuring LGBTQ-serving agencies in our extensive member network of over 800 food pantries, soup kitchens, and campus partners across the five boroughs. View the stories here.

September is Hunger Action Month, a time for all of us to stand up and fight back against food insecurity in the United States. First established by Feeding America in 2008, this month is focused not only on raising awareness about the persistent and growing hunger crisis in our country, but on mobilizing that awareness into action. To learn more about the significance of Hunger Action Month to the work we do here at Food Bank, I spoke with Food Bank For New York City President & CEO Leslie Gordon. She shared invaluable insights into the importance of the month and offered advice for how to stay engaged in the fight against hunger all year long. Take a peek at our conversation below! Why is Hunger Action Month such a great time to get involved with the work we do here at Food Bank? Hunger Action Month is all about raising awareness about food insecurity in the United States, so it’s a great time to engage with organizations like ours that make it our mission to fight hunger all year long. At Food Bank, we provide a ton of different ways to get involved throughout the month, from volunteer opportunities on the ground to options for giving directly to the programs that nourish our neighbors all across the city. Click here to check out some of these easy actions! It’s often said that food alone can’t end hunger. How does Food Bank address the different issues that can impact someone’s ability to access healthy food? At Food Bank, we take the long approach to fighting hunger. That’s why we not only provide reliable access to food today through our member network of over 800 soup kitchens and food pantries across the five boroughs, but also equip our clients with the tools they need to achieve stability into tomorrow and beyond. By pairing food assistance with things like free tax filing prep and financial empowerment workshops, we’re able to address both the surface issue of hunger and its root. What does Food Bank’s Hunger Action Month theme “One Mission. Five Boroughs. Feed All” mean to you? How do we make sure we’re serving as many New Yorkers as we can? For me, this slogan means that we won’t rest until food insecurity is wiped out from every corner of our city. That’s why we partner with and power over 800 community-based organizations across the five boroughs that are able to meet the unique hunger needs of their neighbors. Our Mobile Pantry Program also allows us to take food and other resources directly into the communities that need us most. What’s the impact that a gift or donation can make on our work? Our work wouldn’t be possible without our amazing community of supporters. Their generosity is what enables us to reach the 1.6 million New Yorkers currently facing food insecurity. Each gift allows us to get more food to more people and innovate new ways to nourish, dignify, and empower our neighbors. If it takes a village to fight hunger, our supporters are that village, inspiring us to do more every day. Donate here. How can people continue to fight food insecurity beyond Hunger Action Month? I think the biggest thing to remember is that we’re all one meal, one paycheck, one moment away from experiencing hunger ourselves. Food insecurity isn’t an abstract concept – it exists everywhere, and could very well affect you or someone you love. That’s why the fight is so vital and why it must be fought all year long. So, give generously to hunger relief organizations that inspire you. Offer your time and services to a local food pantry. Follow organizations like ours on social media and share the content we create. If we all engaged with this issue beyond Hunger Action Month, just imagine the things we could do. To find your place in our mission this Hunger Action Month, click here.