Family Action Day at United Food Bank
United Food Bank kicked off Hunger Action Month with a new event called Family Action Day, where families from around the community learned more about hunger and how United Food Bank is helping families become more food secure. Volunteers helped by sorting food drive donations and packing emergency food bags to distribute to our partner agencies! For Family Action Day at United Food Bank, volunteers of all ages packed over 1,200 bags while dancing to hits like Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me. Each emergency food bag helps to feed a family of 4 for almost a week, in addition to fresh produce given at local distributions.
Hunger Action Month was established in 2008 by Feeding America to provide a call to action and raise awareness about the hunger crisis in America. Not only does it focus on food insecurity, but also on how to provide more nutritious food to those who need it. Currently, the average food insecurity rate in the five counties that United Food Bank serves is 13.7%, which includes some of the most remote places in the state. That is almost 4% higher than both the state and national average. 1 in every 10 people in Arizona face hunger, along with 1 in 7 children. Of families who are food insecure in Arizona, often over 20% of them are ineligible for government assistance programs like SNAP, leaving them to decide between having food or other living necessities. Food banks and pantries help fill the gap by providing local food assistance to all families in need, while also providing wrap-around services to move families from poverty to stability in order to create more sustainable solutions to this national crisis.
Newcomers and returning members alike had a great experience at United Food Bank’s Family Action Day. For the little ones, activities included building emergency food bags, completing activity pages to learn about what food insecurity looks like, coloring books, and reading Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt, a children’s book that can help educate children on what food insecurity looks like. Josiah and his family joined the United Food Bank for the first time on Family Action Day! After looking for ways to participate in Hunger Action Month, they saw the opportunity to join and expose their three children to giving back to the community. While initially worried about how the kids might do in a service setting, the range of activities provided a great experience for everyone. One young volunteer, Kacey, opted to sort out cans in between prepping food bags. Kacey loved it so much and has been volunteering once a week, she even spent her birthday at United Food Bank serving with her family!
United Food Bank is proud of the success of this event, with families and friends having a great time helping out their community with each other. Parents were seen showing their kids how to pass out cans, competing with each other to see who can pack the most bags, and cheering every time the cowbell rings when a box is filled with emergency food bags. When the packing was finished, many families also stayed behind to prepare the pallets for the next volunteer shift.
For ways that you can get involved this month, check out these resources at https://www.unitedfoodbank.org/donate/hunger-action-month/.
Written by KC Raguay
