The Small Steps page is meant as a point of intersection for those with great ideas and those who are looking for more ways to help end global hunger. Check back often to see what has been added, but also add some things yourself by filling out the form below. Big change begins with small steps.
Some Initial Steps
-Making a donation to a reputable aid agency like Heifer International or World Vision
-Write your congressman and ask them to divert more money into foreign aid
-Fast for a day or two and use the money that you would spend on food to make a donation
-Make time to pray daily for those who are starving throughout the world
-Join Bread for the World’s Recipe for Hope and fight rising food prices
-Clean out your cupboards and give to a local food pantry like Rock River Valley Food Pantry (They need Peanut Butter)
-Find out more about what your church does to feed the poor in their community.
-Visit The Hunger Site and click the icon once a day
-Take a few sack lunches downtown and hand them out to those who are looking for something to eat
-Plant an extra row of food in your garden this year and donate it to a local food pantry
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I’m a very forgetful person so if something isn’t right in front of me all the time I tend to forget about it. So, I made the hunger site my “home” page. So now whenever I fire up safari the first thing I see is that big yellow button. I click it and then move on to whatever else I have to do on the internet.
I feel slightly weird saying any more because I’ve always felt that the giving you do should be done in private and not talked about. Otherwise you risk only doing things to get the praise of men. But as the point of this initiative is to get people motivated and thinking of ways to help, I’ll go.
On my last Sam’s trip I bought a whole case of peanut butter (Delta, my son’s youth group was collecting PB to take to the food pantry)
One day while going through the drive through at McDonalds there was a guy asking for .79 cents so he could buy a sandwich. (I assume he already had some money and just needed the rest) I did him one better. I told him I would buy him a sandwich and if he would meet me on the other side of the drive through I’d give it to him. He then got bold and asked if he might also get some fries with that. LOL! I said sure! And then he asked about a coke to wash it all down and I said sure. He seemed unsure if I was telling the truth or not. He asked me multiple times if I was sure about this? I said I was and that he just needed to meet me on the other side.
I place my order for my food and his and drove around. I didn’t at first see him when I got to the other side. I wondered if he thought I was just looking for an excuse to get away and wasn’t really going to buy him food. But as I pulled further up, I saw him standing there tentatively looking around. I rolled down my window and handed him the bag and the pop. The expression on his face was worth the $5 I’d just spent.
I’d love to see more ideas here and read other peoples stories
I spent some time over at the Rock River Valley Food Pantry on Tuesday. They have a great operation, but I wanted to pass along some of their needs. They said the are really looking for three things:
-Canned Fruit
-Canned Fruit Juice
-Meat of any variety.
If you want to bring over some meat I would recommend bringing it over frozen.
Of course one simple way is to buy clothing that has been produced in countries that support an international minimum wage.
-Keep some extra snacks in your car to give to those who may ask you for something to eat.
-Look in the phone book and find the names, phone numbers, addresses and hours of all the soup kitchens and shelters in your area. Make copies of this information and store them in your glove compartment so you can share them with those who might need the info. You can also offer to drive them.
Bring the issue of global hunger into your classroom with the Kids Can Make A Difference curriculum from World Hunger Year. The program features, “uplifting, engaging, interactive and challenging lessons on the causes of and solutions to domestic and international hunger. It examines contemporary development projects, the role of the media, famine vs. chronic hunger, the working poor, and more, as well as valuable ideas for how young people can make a difference in their communities and in the world around them.”
After viewing the table of contents it looks like ti could be a great program and really adaptable. Check it out at http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/prog.htm
Print up business cards to hand out to folks with the number of the National Hunger Hotline. A 24 hour a day resource to help connect the hungry with soup kitchens and food pantries around the country. 1-866-3-HUNGRY.
I got an e-mail today that not only helps to fight global hunger, but empowers and entiere group of kids to do the same:
“I don’t know if I told you that I’m directing The Sound of Music for BCT this summer. I had 54 children audition, and obviously, I coul donly cast the 7 von Trapp kids. However, my step-mom Sonja, who was hleping me with an audition workshop was inspired by an article in the Argus Leader about how high gas prices are having an enormous tricle-down effect on the working poor, and that food pantries are in desperate need of replennishing. Anyway, the connection is that she suggested that I cast the kids who didn’t get a role as on of the 7 children in a children’s choir, which could not only sing a bit in the show but perhaps meet and work on a community service project–like domestic hunger & filling the local food pantry. We’ve tentatively dubbed it ‘My Favorite Things food & Fund Drive.’”
Think about organizing your own canned food drive this summer in your church, neighborhood or workplace. The steps are simple.
1. Get in contact with a local food pantry and find out what they are most in need of.
2. Pick the time and location for the food drive.
3. Two weeks before the food drive is about to begin print up some fliers and hand them out. (You can even do a little more PR by writing a press release and sending it to the local newspaper.)
4. When the food drive begins you can either set up barrels to collect the food or go to folks individually whatever suits your situation the best.
5. Haul the food on over to the pantry keeping a count of how much you raised to let interested parties know.
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