From February 15 through March 15, 2010, the Blog For Food Campaign, a coordinated effort of participating Oregon bloggers, seeks to help Oregon Food Bank (OFB) raise funds to address the rising (and alarming) levels of hunger and food insecurity in the state.
Sadly, Oregon has joined the ranks of four other states (Mississippi, Maine, Oklahoma and Missouri) with the highest percentage of hunger (very low food security) in the nation. The latest data released from the USDA shows that between January 2006 and December 2008, almost 7% of Oregon households faced periods of time when they went hungry without being able to purchase food. This data doesn’t reflect the most recent period from 2009 to the present, where the economic downturn has increased sharply. According to the OFB website, the USDA data indicates: “nationally, 49-million Americans, including nearly 17-million children, lived in households that were food insecure in 2008 – up from 36.2 million in 2007 and 33.2 million in 2000.”
It should be pointed out, in the compiling of this statistical data, the USDA attaches labels that describe the following ranges of food security:
Oregon Food Bank is the central support hub of a statewide network of more than 900 local partner agencies that serve all of Oregon, and Clark County in Washington. OFB and its state network now distributes record amounts of food to families reeling from the economic throes of one of the deepest recessions within living memory.
For those wishing to contribute money, please add this note “blog for food” in the section “In Honor of” on the Food Bank donation page (the second form page), so that the campaign totals may be accurately compiled.
For those around the country wishing to help their own local food bank, Feeding America has a Food Bank Locator.