Thanks to Her Campuses very own Marissa Skirvan, we all learned a little bit more about hunger in Utah and how the Utah Food Bank fights to make it better in the Salt Lake Valley and furthermore, in Utah as a state. Unfortunately, however, hunger is not a “Utah only” issue and it affects every state and many countries even more drastically then the United States. While that statement is heartbreaking, it is probably not news to you. Most people understand that hunger is a major issue, however, because of the magnitude of the issue, the number of people it affects, and that it is global wide it can be something that is hard to approach and hard to try and change. Yes, there are many people who go on global/national humanitarian or mission trips that focus on combatting hunger and those are wonderful and life changing trips, however, not everyone can afford to go on those types of trips and if you can, that probably is only a couple days out of the year. Here are three more practical ways to aid in this issue:
Prevention
One wonderful way to aid in the issue of hunger is to work toward preventing it. One way to do this is partnering with local homeless shelter or food kitchens and volunteering there. This could include passing out food to homeless people or even working with their resource department and matching people up with jobs where they can earn wages that will help feed themselves and their family.
Awareness
This one can be harder and can feel like you are fighting an uphill battle because so many people already do know that hunger is an issue and because of that can immediately tune you out, however, making a video, posting on social media or even just telling your friends is never a bad idea. This may be just the right time to remind them that hunger is prevalent, even in their home town and inspire them to look up ways they can help fight it.
Donation
Donation does not mean just money, but also includes time! There are many locations where you can volunteer to help fight hunger in the Salt Lake Valley. You can also spend less than a dollar and buy cans to donate/food supplies, which ends up going to the Utah Food Bank, Crossroads, or similar organizations that get passed out to families and people in need.
Speaking of donating cans and food supplies, right now Utah Her Campus is holding a food drive and we want you to participate! There are drop off boxes in the Union, PHC, and participating Greek Houses. Happy donating!