8 ways you can take action to fight child hunger

At Every Meal, we believe that child hunger is solvable. It’s not a supply problem; it’s a distribution problem. With over 300,000 children in Minnesota living with food insecurity, we’re taking action to change that reality. Through our primary Weekend Meal Program, we provide students at about 375 schools across Minnesota with a consistent and reliable source of nutrition for the weekends so they’re ready to start Mondays with full bellies and ready to learn. September is Hunger Action Month and we invite you to join us in taking action to fight child hunger right here in our community.

Every action counts. Whether it’s learning more about food insecurity, getting hands on through volunteering, powering our work with a donation, or sparking conversations with others about the issue, each action helps us get closer to our vision of ensuring every child has every meal. Below are 8 ways you can take action this September.

LEARN MORE

1. Join Our Don’t Miss a Beet Webinar: Tune in for our third webinar from our quarterly Don’t Miss a Beet series on “How Do Kids Get Food?” on September 17 at 12-12:45 pm to learn more about how we’ve reduced barriers for kids to receive food support. Presented by our Program Manager Anna Prescher, you’ll also hear about how we’re continuously learning and innovating to provide food support to more kids across Minnesota. Make sure to also listen to past webinars: “What is Good Food?” and “Where Does the Food Come From?”

2. Attend Our Fall Open House: Join us for an informal open house at our Roseville warehouse on October 22 at 4-5:30 pm to kick off and celebrate the 2024-2025 school year with us. You’ll get to hear more about the need this year, see the work we’re doing to get good food to nearly 12,000 kids a week throughout Minnesota, and meet the team behind it all. RSVP and bring a friend along.

GET HANDS ON

3. Volunteer to Pack Food Bags: Every single one of the food bags we provide to kids is packed by volunteers. As a Food Bag Packing Volunteer, you’ll join other members from our wonderful community at our Volunteer Center in Roseville in a high-energy and high-impact atmosphere. You’ll form assembly lines and pack bags with a variety of shelf-stable fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains that contain approximately four meals.

4. Volunteer to Distribute Food Bags: Distributing food bags directly in children’s backpacks is at the heart of what we do. As a Food Distribution Volunteer, you’ll be at the center of it, providing a reliable and consistent source of nutrition to children every week. You’ll be part of a network of hundreds of volunteers ensuring students in about 375 schools across Minnesota have their Every Meal food bags ready to go for the weekends.

POWER OUR WORK 

5. Fund Food: Donate non-perishable foods like canned peaches or a case of macaroni & cheese from the comforts of your home or office. Browse our food list and select the items you’d like to donate. Through our bulk purchasing, we’re able to stretch your dollars further.

6. Join our Monthly Giving Circle: Turn your donation into a recurring gift by donating $5 or more per month. You’ll automatically join Every Meal’s Monthly Giving Circle, a group of sustaining supporters playing a key role in our current and growing work to change the story of child hunger in Minnesota. As a Meal Maker, you’ll receive exclusive benefits in recognition of your contribution.

SPARK CONVERSATIONS

7. Follow us on social media: Stay up-to-date on our work and the impact we’re making in children’s lives. Like, comment, or share our posts so that more people become aware about the child hunger issues we face in our state.

8. Wear Every Meal apparel: Wearing our branded apparel, like our trucker hat or sweatshirt, can help start a casual conversation with a neighbor, at the grocery line, or a sports game. It’s a great way to increase awareness about Every Meal’s mission and work in the community.

Thank you for taking action. Remember, no action is too small and has the potential to make a big impact in our fight against child hunger.