This is a partnered post on behalf of Unilever Project Sunlight, to help spread awareness for the Share A Meal initiative. All opinions are my own.
In a recently shared a bit about the Project Sunlight #ShareAMeal program, along with some startling statistics about childhood hunger. For example, the fact that 1 in 5 children in America go to be hungry at night. That’s 16 million children going to bed hungry – equate that to the populations of Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia combined.
After learning about these statistics and the Project Sunlight Share A Meal initiative, I was eager to do more in my own community. Living in a poor rural area, I know there are a lot of families in need. To help make a difference, I reached out to a few friends and organized a small food drive to benefit our local food pantry which services more than 150 families each month. That’s a lot, considering how small the population is in our county.
There are some wonderful people who work at Glascock Action Partners, offering a variety of services to our community. They are always so appreciative of any help we can give.
While the purpose of giving is helping others, I’m not going to lie – it feels really good to help others. I get warm fuzzies inside when I am able to help someone else. It’s a feeling I would love to have all the time. See that smile on my face?
The premise of the Project Sunlight Share A Meal program is to encourage people to get involved and help put an end to child hunger in America – to create a brighter future for children – by taking small steps to live sustainably, use less and share even more.
It doesn’t take much effort for you to help end childhood hunger in America. The small act of sharing a meal could have a big impact on a family in need.
Here are 7 ways you can help Share A Meal:
1. Help a Family in Your Neighborhood: Simply sharing a meal with a neighbor either in the form of a simple lunch or dinner party, or even packing an extra lunch for your child to take to school, could go a long way.
2. Partner with Local Organizations: Local community organizations are great resources for sharing a meal in your area – simply tap into their networks to see how you can help.
3. Coordinate with Your Local Food Bank: Whether you wish to volunteer or host your own local food drive, use Feeding America’s online Food Bank Locator tool to get in touch with a food bank in your area.
4. Host a Virtual Food Drive: Feeding America’s Personal Fundraiser tool is a great place to start and to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues for contributions.
5. Donate: Consider swapping a night out with a night in and share those extra savings with children and families in need in the form of a donation to Feeding America.
6. You Buy One, We Give One: Look for the Unilever “You Buy One, We Give One” coupon offer in the Sunday paper on November 16. Redeem at participating stores from November 16 – 30 and Unilever will donate one meal* to Feeding America when you purchase any participating Unilever product.
7. Lend Your Voice: Inspire others by revealing why you’re helping to end child hunger on social media using, “I #ShareAMeal because…”
If you are able, I encourage you to help put an end to child hunger. You can make a food bank donation like I did, or any of the other suggestions above. It’s also important to help spread the word about the #ShareAMeal campaign. Spread the word on your own social media accounts, or simply retweet my tweet below.
I share a meal because there are children in my community who are hungry. #ShareAMeal #sp http://t.co/mV4PGqRNCr pic.twitter.com/DGPZw8fDuA
— About A Mom (@aboutamom) October 28, 2014
Need more inspiration? Visit ProjectSunlight.us. There you can download the informative Unilever Share A Meal Toolkit to learn more about the power of a shared meal.
How would you “Share A Meal” to help end child hunger?
TerriAnn @ Cookies & Clogs says
October 28, 2014 at 4:36 PM1 in 5? That’s so sad! It’s great that you were able to help like this. I should check to see what options to donate are available in my community.
Masshole Mommy says
October 28, 2014 at 4:59 PMthat is a really great campaign. We always donate to our local food bank whenever we can. Every little bit helps.
BusyBeeBlogger says
October 28, 2014 at 5:08 PMThat buy one give one coupon is a great idea. Having struggled to feed my own family, this is great to know people are helping.
Angela says
October 28, 2014 at 5:12 PMI have been in that situation before myself, which makes it especially wonderful to be able to help others out now. There were so many people willing to lend a helping hand when I needed it.
JoAnna says
October 28, 2014 at 5:10 PMThese are great resources. I volunteered at a food bank last year around the holidays and it was so wonderful. They always need volunteers. Thank you so much for sharing.
Lisa says
October 28, 2014 at 5:11 PMI love this! I will definitely be looking for the “buy one give one” in my paper. Hunger is a horrible thing, especially for children.
Liz Mays says
October 28, 2014 at 5:33 PMThere’s so much we can do to help, big and small. It’s just important that we do something!
Debi says
October 28, 2014 at 6:30 PMI love this. I am always trying to help donate to causes like this. Now I have more ways to help against hunger!
Rashell Abril says
October 28, 2014 at 8:30 PMI like this. I always donate here in our place because it’s not easy to eat nothing. I’m happy to know that there are a lot of people with a big heart.
michele d says
October 28, 2014 at 8:47 PMSounds like a great cause. With the holidays coming up, help is needed everywhere. Nothing is too small or too big.
Melanie says
October 28, 2014 at 9:28 PMSO awesome and so important to give back to your community. Great post. Thanks for sharing!
Nina Say says
October 28, 2014 at 11:58 PMI will definitely be sharing a meal now, thank you for the tips!
Jon says
October 29, 2014 at 12:01 AMIève said it before and Ièll say it again. Donate to your local food drive whatever you can, even if itès one can of peas.
Laura MyNewestAddiction.com says
October 29, 2014 at 12:27 AMA lot of our local grocery stores are great about this. Thanks for the reminder!
Tanya Coffman says
October 29, 2014 at 4:53 AMThis is a great post, I would love to make a meal for someone in my neighborhood. Now today my mission is going to be to make new friends with my neighbors 😀
Deanna Ritz says
October 29, 2014 at 10:07 AMWhat a fantastic campaign. I love to do this kind of work as much as possible!
Touristmeetstraveler says
October 29, 2014 at 10:41 AMIt’s always important to give back and help those in need.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
October 29, 2014 at 10:41 AMThat is such an awesome campaign. I hate to think about anyone going hungry this day in age.
Amber Conaway says
October 29, 2014 at 12:43 PMWhat a great project! My family always “adopts” a family over the Holidays to provide them with a meal! Definitely something we should do more than just over the holidays!
Betsy Mitchell says
October 29, 2014 at 12:48 PMIt’s crazy (and sad) to think about all the people in the area who are hungry. It hurts my heart. Thanks for bringing awareness!
Pam says
October 29, 2014 at 3:50 PMI am really loving the Share a Meal program. Child hunger is such a problem and many people don’t know what they can do about it.
Rebecca Swenor says
October 29, 2014 at 5:44 PMThis is an amazing cause indeed. Kudos to you and the Unilever Project Sunlight. Thanks for sharing.
Bonnie @ wemake7 says
October 29, 2014 at 6:32 PMI always love helping others when I can. Now that we are in that situation I’m glad that there is places that can help.
Risa says
October 29, 2014 at 7:16 PMThanks for sharing those great ideas. It’s always so fulfilling to help someone out when you are more fortunate. I’ve been there, so I would like to help others when I can.
Barbie's Beauty Bits says
October 29, 2014 at 7:47 PMGreat tips! I donate to the backpack program that helps with meals!
Jaime says
October 29, 2014 at 8:55 PMOur local food bank is wonderful. I’ve volunteered with them in the past, and I love to give to them in any way possible (food donations or cash.)
Marielle Altenor says
October 30, 2014 at 12:06 AMThe fact that there are so many kids going to bed hungry makes me so sad. I was one of those kids growing up so I can relate. Every little bit that we can do to stop this from happening is good. We donate food around the holidays but I think we will have to do more in the future.
Jeanine says
October 30, 2014 at 11:17 AMGreat tips! We love donating but sometimes I’m not sure what to pack! Very helpful
Tiffany (A Mom's Take) says
October 30, 2014 at 11:27 AMI really like that you’re doing this. Makes me want to get out in my community with my two kids and make a difference. Keep up the good and selfless work you’re doing.
Ann Bacciaglia says
October 30, 2014 at 11:49 AMThis is a great cause. We donate food to our local food bank every month. I also volunteer at the schools Breakfast for Learning program.
Lisa says
October 30, 2014 at 12:11 PMI think it’s so sad that there are still so many kids who are hungry. When we adopted our youngest 2, they ate like they were afraid they’d never see food again because they had known so much hunger in their short lives! It just breaks my heart!
Manu Kalia says
October 30, 2014 at 12:24 PMThis is a great cause. I hope everyone has the same heart as you. God bless you
Melissa @ This Girl's Life Blog says
October 30, 2014 at 12:29 PMThis is a great cause. These are all great ideas and ways to help stop hungry.
Tracey says
October 30, 2014 at 12:38 PMThanks for sharing these great ideas. What an important cause.
Christie says
October 30, 2014 at 1:08 PMLove the Unilever buy one give one offer! These are all great ways to share a meal!
Theresa says
October 30, 2014 at 2:38 PMIt is baffling how 1 in 5 don’t have enough to eat in this country. Something is very wrong with that! I love it when companies step up to do their part to end hunger. We give to our food bank year round in hopes that our little part will make a difference too.
Chrystal @ YUM eating says
October 30, 2014 at 2:39 PMWhat a great program. We help with our church group, donate to food banks and we have a child we sponsor and give money to monthly to help with food, education, clothing and shelter.
Krystal says
October 30, 2014 at 3:08 PMIt’s such a nice campaign and Unilever is being generous! Very good cause and idea.
Cam | Bibs and Baubles says
October 30, 2014 at 3:43 PMLove this program. It really is shameful that any child would go hungry. I’m glad there are efforts to help.
Rosey says
October 30, 2014 at 5:32 PMI love that you’ve included such a great list of ideas so everyone can get their hand in the helping. The one to coordinate with the local food banks is a great one. We’ve done that before here, and they were so receptive!
April @ Everyday Fitness and Nutrition says
October 30, 2014 at 9:33 PMThese are great ways to help out in the community! It’s alarming how many families don’t know where their next meal will come from.
Kendra says
October 30, 2014 at 11:12 PMThis is an awesome program. Anything that helps families eat is a great initiative. It always amazes me how we spend so much on foreign aid programs but can’t take care of home the same way.
Carly Anderson says
October 30, 2014 at 11:42 PMGiving to families who aren’t as fortunate as us is so important. Thanks for these great ways to share a meal!
Donna says
October 31, 2014 at 4:36 PMWhat great ideas! We always helped with food baskets that are put together by the student council kids and then distributed to families just before Thanksgiving in our local community.
Rachel says
November 2, 2014 at 1:48 AMGreat tips. We learned recently that in our county 18% don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Our scout pack is going to do a food drive for our local food bank to try and help get that number down.
Singapore Mum Blog says
November 2, 2014 at 9:56 AMThis is super! Esp in this season of thanksgiving, it’s great to be able to share a meal.
Jeanae says
November 2, 2014 at 9:21 PMIt is so easy to focus on our own busy schedules, and forget about many of the needs around us. I am so glad that such programs exist. Thanks for the reminder.
Anne says
November 2, 2014 at 10:24 PMThis is such an important campaign! We always donate to our local food pantry, and my son just did Scouting for Food with his scout troop to collect food around the neighborhood.
HilLesha says
November 2, 2014 at 10:53 PMMuch as I love to make donations, I have never thought of volunteering. Sounds like a wonderful idea, though!
Raijean says
November 3, 2014 at 3:53 AMSuch a good cause, this is perfect especially during the holidays and beyond.