FOOD Share launches “Spoon FULL a Day” pledge in recognition of Hunger Action Month in Sept

VENTURA, Calif. - Aug. 27, 2015 - PRLog -- 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.  During the month of September, FOOD Share, Ventura County’s regional food bank, asks everyone to observe Hunger Action Month by taking the “Spoon Full a Day” pledge and doing 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 “Spoon Full a Day” pledge inspires Ventura County residents to look within themselves, their homes and their neighborhoods for ways to help solve the hunger problem and build stronger communities.  The initiative launches with “Spoon Selfie” Day on Tuesday, Sept. 1.  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.  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.

“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,” said Bonnie Atmore, President and CEO of FOOD Share.  “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.”  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 your 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 our communities.
Visit the Ventura Art and Street Painting Festival at the Ventura Harbor Village Saturday and Sunday Sept. 12-13, from 10am-5pm.  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 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.

About FOOD Share:

More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath 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, SoCal Gas CARE Program and more. 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. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FoodShareofVenturaCounty) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/FoodshareVC).