Spooky Fights Hunger

Spooky’s two-part mission emphasizes building and strengthening our communities. We do this by bringing attention to hunger and focusing our work on helping those in need in our own backyards. We sometimes hear questions like this:

           Are there really people in this region who need food help?
           Who actually gets the food we collect?

Some local residents are shocked to learn about the food challenges faced by many in their region. Those of us who live typical suburban lives may have little or no exposure to the working poor, elderly, and children who make up the vast majority of food support recipients. We may not realize that more than 38 million Americans are food insecure, hungry, or at risk of hunger, that a child is one out of every four people in line at a soup kitchen, or that 36% of those served through the national food bank network (America’s Second Harvest) are employed.

A GLANCE AT HUNGER IN AMERICA

The need is great! According to America’s Second Harvest (A2H), in 2004, 38.2 million people lived in food-insecure households, including 13.9 million children, and the numbers continue to rise. Over 30-40% of those assisted by food programs have to regularly choose between buying food or paying utilities, housing or medical/drug expenses. In any given week, approximately 4.5 million different people receive emergency food assistance from the A2H system.

To read more about Hunger in America, visit the America’s Second Harvest website.

When people learn about the hunger needs in their own regions, they are usually willing to get involved, either by volunteering or by making a donation. Spooky provides an easy, significant, and meaningful way for diverse people – adults and children, regardless of religion, politics, region, race, or other potential barriers – to work together to help those in need. Through this work, so much good can result: Interpersonal barriers break down, community ties are built, neighbor-to-neighbor ties are reinforced, children learn about altruism, and a network of caring and compassion begins to form. All these positive outcomes are in addition to the very measurable difference Spooky makes in the lives of those in need of food support. Help us fight hunger and strengthen the fabric of our communities: Get involved with It’s Spooky To Be Hungry®