Food Outreach celebrated its first ever “Hunger Action Month” September 2008 with the goal of raising awareness about the vital role nutrition plays in all of our lives, especially our clients.  These men, women and children are in the fight of their lives, battling insidious diseases that rob their bodies of strength and stamina.
They depend on Food Outreach and its supporters to provide them with the food their bodies require to keep up the fight…nutritious meals with ingredients chosen specifically for their critical dietary needs. 

As Food Outreach kicked off Hunger Action Month, the economy kicked off its own action month, on Wall Street.  With the volatile state of the economy weighing on everyone’s minds, Executive Director Greg Lukeman wanted to find a way to better understand how difficult it can be to eat, let alone eat nutritiously, when on a fixed income.  He launched his own Hunger Challenge, limiting himself to a budget of $3.62 per day ($25.36 per week) for food which is the weekly allotment of food stamps for a Missouri resident with a disability.  He, along with Food Outreach Board Member Attilio D’Agostino from ALIVE Magazine; Rachel Storch, State Rep of 64th District; and Jeff Smith State Senator from the 4th District, made the hunger challenge their mission.  By doing this, each experienced what our clients would face if they did not have Food Outreach as a resource.  

He shared his thoughts and impressions during his Hunger Challenge in a daily blog, encouraging others to learn more about the basic needs of the people in their community.   He spoke with reporters about the importance of nutrition in our clients’ lives, the growing need in the community at large, and the ways people could help Food Outreach continue to provide for clients.  The goal always in mind:  raise awareness not only of the vital work of Food Outreach but also of the disparate allotment of food stamps, and in these volatile economic times, there could be more people a ‘paycheck’ away from being hungry.

September came to an end, as did Hunger Action Month and Greg’s Hunger Challenge.  The result:

Countless lives changed           

3,700 dollars raised

125 messages of support (from as far away as LA)

10 stories from our friends in the media (TV interviews were pickued up in Birmingham, AL and Kansas City, MO!)            

Food Outreach can not thank our supporters enough for embracing our mission, stocking our shelves and helping our clients.  You certainly took action in September, and we are grateful for all you do.  We hope that people take this awareness to heart and get involved with grassroots hunger advocacy efforts.

Food Outreach would also like to thank 963 Collective for designing the Hunger Challenge Blog.