September is Hunger Action Month, which led to a nationwide awareness campaign designed to mobilize the public to take action to help end hunger. The campaign brought attention to the reality of how bad hunger is in the United States and encouraged organizations to help get involved on the campaign against hunger.
The reality is that 1 in 8 people struggle with hunger every day in the United States. Our partner, Feeding America, stated that the latest research shows that hunger exists in every single county. Additionally, the people currently facing hunger are finding it more and more difficult to provide their families with the proper nutrition that they need.
During September, Central KY Community Action Council continued to help fight hunger in the communities that we serve. We distributed 612 Senior Commodity boxes in Breckinridge, Larue, Marion, Meade and Washington Counties. CKCAC passed out 250 boxes from the Marion and Washington food banks. We distributed 9 emergency food boxes and had over 50 referrals to food pantries. The Congregate Meals Program served 2,859 senior meals to 316 clients and gave out 255 food vouchers to 51 clients. CKCAC also hosted a Senior Community Day in Larue County where we were able to feed over 50 senior citizens and informed them about all of CKCAC’s programs.
Hunger Action Month is over but as we move into the final weeks of 2019, take a moment to consider the universal feeling of hunger and how that feeling prevents us from reaching our full potential. The icons of an empty plate, an uncharged battery or a gas gauge moving toward empty will function as a visual representation of what an empty stomach leads to: hunger.