VENTURA COUNTY — September is Hunger Action Month, and FOOD Share is asking everyone to share the message that 1 in 6 Ventura County residents is still food insecure. That’s 136,000 of our children, families, and seniors who lack, at times, enough food for a healthy lifestyle.
To spread this message, FOOD Share is calling on the community to create and post “selfies” with plates to raise awareness of the remaining need in Ventura County and the number of people who struggle to put food on the table come meal time. Using the hashtag #Share16, children, adults, families, and seniors can pose with an orange plate (the official color of Hunger Action Month) or any plate that has meaning to them, and then share why they support hunger alleviation. If every individual, family, and business takes a selfie to Share16 during Hunger Action Month, FOOD Share will generate the awareness and support it needs to continue to feed the 1 in 6 hungry friends and neighbors who need their help.
Solving hunger is not a challenge that FOOD Share can tackle alone – it’s a community wide effort that requires the support and partnership of countless individuals and organizations across Ventura County,” said Bonnie Atmore, President and CEO of FOOD Share. “Hunger Action month is a great opportunity to elevate awareness and engage new supporters in the Share16 movement. We’ve made amazing progress as a community toward solving hunger, but we still have a long way to go to ensure that we’re not only feeding the line, but shortening it as well.”
Through the launch of its Share16 initiative, involvement of local businesses and corporations, and the support of the community, FOOD Share was able to collect and distribute 11,591,863 pounds of food, or 9,659,886 meals between July 2015 and June 2016. But a significant meal gap still remains, and FOOD Share needs Ventura County’s help to restock its shelves before the busy holiday season. In addition to posting selfies, there are many other ways to get involved in Hunger Action Month by supporting the Share16 initiative.