Media Release - Small ways you can take action to end hunger this Hunger Action Month
Media Release
Small ways you can take action to end hunger this Hunger Action Month
Cobourg, ON – August 28, 2024 – This September, Northumberland County invites you to join in the fight against food insecurity by participating in our ‘30 Ways in 30 Days’ Hunger Action Month initiative. This 30-day challenge invites community members to participate in small actions throughout the month of September to help support local food banks, food security programs, and to reduce food waste.
“Food banks across the province are experiencing record-breaking increases in use,” states County Community and Social Services Director Lisa Horne. “Between April of 2022 and March of 2023, 800,822 adults and children accessed food banks over 5.88 million times in Ontario. Locally, in 2023, over 5,000 residents made over 74,000 visits to food banks in Northumberland. This indicates a 32% increase in use compared to 2022, underscoring the importance of initiatives like Hunger Action Month to raise awareness and galvanize support for community services addressing this issue.”
At the national level, Food Banks Canada supports food banks and raises awareness about food bank usage in Canada. Provincially, this work is carried out by Feed Ontario.
In Northumberland, the County’s Food 4 All Warehouse, along with twelve local food banks, provide food supports to individuals and champion national and provincial initiatives across our communities. Hunger Action Month aims to support these vital programs, while raising awareness of food insecurity and advocating for an end to hunger and poverty in Canada.
On August 14th, County Council officially proclaimed September as ‘Hunger Action Month’ in Northumberland. Each year, throughout the month of September, organizations come together to highlight issues contributing to food insecurity and encourage communities to take action. To get involved in this year’s Hunger Action Month initiative, you can:
· Read Northumberland County’s 2024 Feed Change Report, available on the County’s website, to learn more about local food support and to view distribution and usage data for food banks and school nutrition programs in Northumberland;
· Participate in our ‘30 Ways in 30 Days’ challenge, encouraging community members to get involved by completing one action each day to support food security in Northumberland. To participate, download the calendar on the County’s website or follow the Northumberland County Food 4 All Facebook page (@NCFood4All) for daily reminders of how you can support Hunger Action Month;
· Visit and share the FoodHelpNorthumberland.cioc.ca website to find out where residents can access local food support; and,
· Follow the Northumberland County Food 4 All Facebook page (@NCFood4All) and share our Hunger Action Month content to help spread the word about food security.
For more information about Hunger Action Month and how to get involved, visit Norhtumberland.ca/HungerActionMonth.
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For more information:
Kate Campbell
Director, Communications
Northumberland County
Phone: 905-372-3329 x2335
Email: campbellk@northumberlandcounty.ca
Web: www.northumberlandcounty.ca
About Northumberland County
Located on the traditional territory of the Mississauga, Northumberland County is a thriving community just one hour east of Toronto along Highway 401, with easy access to urban centres to the north, east and west. As the upper tier level of municipal government for the region, Northumberland County’s vision is to bring together people, partnerships and possibilities for a strong and vibrant Northumberland. Our community includes seven distinct yet complementary municipalities, with County Council comprised of the Mayors of each of these member municipalities:
• Township of Alnwick/Haldimand
• Municipality of Brighton
• Town of Cobourg
• Township of Cramahe
• Township of Hamilton
• Municipality of Port Hope
• Municipality of Trent Hills
