Hunger Action Week – Tying up loose ends
(A group of us volunteering at Food Lifeline for MLK 2010)
Hunger Action Week has been over for almost a week now but we still have a few last minute items to take care of! So here goes:
One last recap:
- The Hazel Bloom had two (no wait, three) main takeaways from the Hunger Challenge:
“My main takeaway was, jeez: This takes time. It took the better part of a Sunday to plan our meals and figure out what we could stretch from one meal to the next. Time I’m sure many people who are trying to raise kids and living on a very limited budget just don’t have. Well, that was one of two main takeaways, actually. The second was, dang. I’m lucky. We’ve got plenty of money to eat well. And (okay, three) I need to do better at giving to those who are less fortunate. I’m going to start by giving to the Yes We Can! Project.”
You can see a good recap of all things Hunger Action Week on our Hunger Action Week page.
You can still get involved! Just because the week is over doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still take action:
My personal thoughts on Hunger Action Week / addressing criticisms:
I really like Hunger Action Week. It accomplishes something that doesn’t come easy — taking the issue of hunger and bringing it to the forefront of people’s minds. We get media attention and we get people talking and thinking about it. for that, it is awesome.
With all that exposure, however, comes cynicism and criticism towards the Hunger Challenge. Usually (as in, when not coming from an anonymous comment troll), these are cogent criticisms that I can agree with. I don’t think that the Hunger Challenge is perfect. However, as a whole, Hunger Action Week and the Hunger Challenge bring results that make a difference around the issue of hunger. So let me address two of the biggest criticisms:
The Hunger Challenge is just a game.
You know what? The Hunger Challenge is a game. In no way will I ever suggest that anyone trying to live off of $7 a day for 5 days will know what it’s like to be poverty-stricken.
For me, the Hunger Challenge is a viceral way for people to think about the issue of hunger in their every day lives. You won’t know what it’s like to be hungry, but you will recognize the importance food has in the life and that people who go without have a lot to deal with.
Also, in working with food bloggers and other media, the Hunger Challenge is a way to grab people’s attention and reach new audiences. The Hunger Challenge is a tool to bring awareness around the issue of hunger and it does a good job at that.
Raising awareness is fine, but it’s not enough.
A lot of people commented or wrote blog posts basically saying, “Awareness is fine but it needs to connected to a call to act.”
Uhm, I TOTALLY AGREE.
Awareness is good, but action is a lot better. And throughout our campaign, we’ve asked people to take action. We have links to volunteer, we worked with the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition on advocacy, and we have a fundraising campaign for a really cool project that will give people healthy food and at the same time save food that normally would go to waste. In everything we did, we have connected awareness to action.
What’s more, our awesome bloggers carried out this message, too. Their posts have links to donations and volunteering. Further, they have taken action around hunger themselves. Here’s are the actions that come to mind: Bloggers like The Hazel Bloom wrote about her donating, Dianasaur Dishes will be teaching a class for cheap, healthy cooking in Auburn, Savory Sweet Life is going to be hosting a bake sale for Share Our Strength. And that was just the first 3 examples that came to mind! The awareness campaign brought awareness and many people went further and took action.
So yeah. I agree that awareness is just the first step. But since it is the first step, it’s important.
I hope that brings some perspective to how I view Hunger Action Week.
Thanks again for everyone’s participation!
Leave your response!