Fighting Food Insecurity in this month of Thanksgiving

The Holiday season is here, and there is so, so much to be grateful for! But,  imagine how it would feel not to know where your next meal, let alone Thanksgiving dinner, would come from. Or, knowing that you are one car break-down or medical emergency away from being able to provide food for your family. Imagine having to make the choice between paying an electricity bill to keep your family warm, or buying nutritious food. This is what it means to be “food insecure,” and it is a daily reality throughout the U.S. There is not a community in our country that is not impacted by this issue. Maybe you have even been in this position yourself.

 The staggering reality is that around 38 million Americans faced food insecurity in 2020, according to Feeding America (www.feedingamerica.org), with around 12 million of those being children. Here in Georgia, 1 in 7 children and 1 in 13 seniors will face food insecurity according to the Atlanta Community Food Bank (www.ACFB.Org).

It’s no surprise that a root cause of lack of nutrition can blossom into further challenges, like medical complications, developmental delays, and mental and emotional stress. The problem of food insecurity goes far beyond a feeling of being hungry and impacts a person on the whole in innumerable ways.

As we prepare for special meals around a full table with family and friends, it’s always sobering to remember those in our community who may not be enjoying these holidays due to food insecurity.

This November, in order to support the efforts of Feeding America’s fight against hunger, 10% of our online sales from Devi & Co. will be donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank throughout the entire month. For each dollar donated, the Food Bank will be able to provide 4 nutritious meals to those facing food insecurity in our area this holiday season. You can be assured that your purchases and independent donations will help make this Thanksgiving a bit brighter for many, many families. 

To get the spirit of giving started, we are kicking things off with an initial $100 donation to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, supplying 400 Thanksgiving meals for our neighbors here in Atlanta. 

We love Feeding America and its network of Food Pantries and Food Banks across the country because they seek to address hunger and food insecurity holistically by offering a wide breadth of services including health care and homelessness services which go beyond simply providing meals to those in need. Atlanta Community Food Bank is one of Feeding America’s network of partners, and it serves 29 counties in the Metro-Atlanta and North Georgia region, including my own neighborhood. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the ACFB has seen a 300% increase in inquiries from families in need of assistance, so community contributions are more important now than ever before. 

Your purchases can make a brighter Holiday Season this year!

Thank you to Feeding America and Atlanta Community Food Bank for the wealth of information and statistics found on your websites, and for the important work that you do. If you would like to know more about how food insecurity impacts your own community, please visit www.feedingamerica.org to learn more, and find out which Food Banks serve your own community, or to make individual donations.

The information and statistics in this post have been soured from feedingamerica.org, acfb.org, and GeorgiaFoodBankAssociation.org.