September is Hunger Action Month, and you’ve probably seen some calls to action to Donate, Advocate, and Volunteer. But what is advocacy, and how do you get started?
Advocacy Basics
Advocacy is the act of publicly and actively supporting or promoting a cause, idea, or group to influence decisions, policies, and public opinion to achieve positive change. Anyone can be an advocate for hunger- it can be as simple as signing on to a public letter, or directly emailing your representative to let them know how important hunger-relief programs are in Northeastern North Carolina.
| Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Provides timely, targeted, and temporary benefits to low-income Americans to buy groceries. |
| The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) | Provides USDA commodities to families in need of short-term hunger relief through emergency food providers like food banks. |
| The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) | Provides food assistance for low-income seniors with a monthly package of healthy USDA commodities. |
| The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) | Provides nutritionally balanced lunch to qualified children each school day. |
| The School Breakfast Program (SBP) | Provides nutritionally balanced breakfast to qualified children each school day. |
| Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) | Provides nutritious foods and nutrition education for low-income, at risk women, infants. |
Ways that you can Advocate
- Share our neighbors’ and partners’ stories.
- Follow the Food Bank on social to stay up to date on policy actions: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
- Know who your state representatives are, their positions on key issues, and how to contact them: here or here
- Visit the Congressional Hunger Center to learn more about food insecurity in the U.S. and how advocacy fits in
