FOOD Share, Ventura County’s Food Bank, launches ‘Spoon FULL a Day’ pledge during Hunger Action Month in September
From Amigos805 staff reports
Youth participate in the one ‘Spoon FULL a Day’ information events held recently at the Santa Paula Boys & Girls Club. Courtesy photo.
While September is typically the time to think about the coming fall and back to school, advocates want the public to start thinking about what they can do to combat the ongoing issue of hunger in the 805 region.
One way will be to take a look at the “Spoon FULL a Day” calendar in Ventura County and see what they can do on an individual basis to get the word out on social meeting and other awareness opportunities.
Food Share volunteers serve frozen bananas from the organization’s mobile pantry recently at the Santa Paula Boys & Girls Club. Courtesy photo.
The program begins on Tuesday, Sept. 1 with “Spoon Selfie” Day.
Individuals, families and local businesses are encouraged to a take selfies with brightly colored spoons and post them to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using #aspoonfulladay.
The effort is part of Hunger Action Month in September with upcoming action items including posting the “Spoon Full a Day” calendar on home or office refrigerators on Sept. 2, having barbeque guests bring canned food to donate to FOOD Share on Labor Day on Sept. 7, attending the Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival on Sept. 12 where net proceeds will benefit FOOD Share and sharing all Hunger Action Month activities on social media on Sept. 30.
“While FOOD Share, its partners and its volunteers work year-round to secure the food necessary to continuously supply our 194 pantry partners across the county, Hunger Action Month is an opportunity for us to raise community-wide awareness of how much more needs to be done. Solving hunger involves more than handing out food,” Bonnie Atmore, president and CEO of FOOD Share, stated in a media release. “We must not just feed our unstable neighborhoods; we must also lead and strengthen them by giving them the tools and resources they need to stabilize themselves.”
“Every little bit helps. With just a ‘Spoon FULL a Day,’ every business, individual and family has the capacity to help close the hunger gap in Ventura County,” the organization reported.
FOOD Share is asking everyone to take the “Spoon FULL a Day” pledge and do just one simple task a day to raise awareness of the nearly 86,240 people who experience food insecurity in Ventura County every month.
The pledge is designed to inspire Ventura County residents to look within themselves, their homes and their neighborhoods for ways to help solve the hunger problem and build stronger communities.
If everyone participates in one small way every day, the “Spoon FULL a Day” campaign will mobilize Ventura County to take action on the issue of hunger and get everyone involved with the movement to solve it, the organization reported.
This year, FOOD Share will launch its Collaborating for Clients initiative to empower communities to sustain themselves one neighborhood at a time.
How to Take Action for Hunger Action Month:
- Download and print the “Spoon FULL a Day” calendar from www.foodshare.com and take the pledge to do one simple thing every day to fight local hunger.
- Announce a pledge on social media by taking a “Spoon Selfie” and posting it using #aspoonfulladay on Sept. 1.
- Attend the Ventura County Agricultural Summit on Friday Sept.11 and learn how Ventura County’s local farms help fight hunger in the region.
- Visit the Ventura Art and Street Painting Festival at the Ventura Harbor Village Saturday and Sunday Sept. 12-13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The signature FOOD Share event features vivid chalk art and more than 50 regional sculptors, painters, photographers and potters. All net proceeds will benefit FOOD Share.
- Show support against hunger: Attend Hunger Action Month proclamation ceremony with FOOD Share and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m. in the Ventura County Government Center’s Hall of Administration.
For more information on Ventura County’s hunger alleviation efforts, FOOD Share’s C4C initiative, and upcoming events, visit www.foodshare.com
Youth and FOOD Share volunteers participate in the one ‘Spoon FULL a Day’ information events recently at the Santa Paula Boys & Girls Club. Courtesy photo.
About FOOD Share — Ventura County’s Food Bank
More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need under a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura County’s regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 10 million pounds of food annually from two FOOD Share warehouses; this food supplies more than 194 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Share’s programs also provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include Kids’ Farmers Market, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market and the SoCal Gas CARE Program. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about FOOD Share, visit www.foodshare.com and on the organization’s Facebook and Twitter.
Other 805 regional hunger prevention programs
• Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County will hold its next Hunger Walk with check-in at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at St. Timothy’s Church, 962 Piney Way, Morro Bay. Visit http://www.slofoodbank.org/events/hunger-walk for more information.
• Foodbank Santa Barbara County, which raised $75,000 during its End Summer Hunger program to help feed the most at-risk school-age children during the summer months, will hold its 5th annual Foodbank Partner’s Summit from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24 at Pacifica Graduate Institute, 801 Ladera Lane, Santa Barbara.
The summit, which benefits Foodbank of Santa Babara, will feature keynote speaker Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal.
Collaborate, learn and network with other nonprofits and attend sessions on nutrition education, advocacy, fundraising, data analysis, CalFresh, storytelling and best practices, the organization reported. The summit helps take agencies another step further to ending hunger in Santa Barbara County.
Get one ticket for an attendee to the summit for $35 or save by inviting two attendees from the organization for $50. Space is limited; the last day to register is Sept. 18. A total of 10 scholarships for the summit are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only one will be alloted per organization. To RSVP for the summit, or more information on the scholarships, contact Eloisa Chavez at echavez@foodbanksbc.org.
• The 14th annual Empty Bowls Santa Maria, which benefits Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 at the Santa Maria Fairpark, 937 S. Thomburg St., Santa Barbara. Contact Judith Monte at 805-937-3422, ext. 106 or via email at jmonte@foodbanksbc.org for more information.
• Empty Bowls Santa Barbara, which benefits Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, will be held on Sunday, Nov. 1 in Santa Barbara. Tickets go on sale after Tuesday, Sept. 1. Call 805-967-5741 ext. 104 for tickets and more information.
