Take time to do something about nothing with the Nothing Campaign against hunger
Nothing. Imagine if you sat down at the kitchen table, only to find a bare table and an empty plate before you. Nothing. Unimaginable? Not for thousands of Ohioans who face the threat of poverty and hunger every day of their lives.
“It’s sometimes difficult for many of us to realize the pain and despair suffered by our friends and neighbors who don’t have enough to eat,” said Charles Barber, of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF). “Millions of Ohioans just like you and I drive to work each day, zooming past hundreds of homes, and behind too many of those front doors, the cupboards are truly bare.”
Hunger has many faces. A senior citizen on a fixed income who must stretch the ingredients for one typical meal to cover two, three, four or more meals in order to get by. It may be a junior high school student whose single mother works afternoons, who comes home from school to find that the refrigerator holds nothing but a bottle of ketchup, or an out-of-work father who has five hungry mouths to feed and is scraping to find loose change for a loaf of bread and a carton of milk.
To bring attention to the plight of hungry Ohioans, the OASHF has launched an innovative media campaign, titled ‘Nothing.’ They are hoping that the effort, which focuses on encouraging everyday Ohioans to become aware of the needs of their neighbors, and learn how to do something with ‘nothing.’
“The campaign enforces the cold, tough fact that for thousands of Ohioans, too often there’s nothing to eat,” said Barber. “In partnership with Charter One Bank, the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and member food banks are participating in a statewide campaign to raise awareness and funds that will help feed our hungry friends and neighbors. 100 percent of the dollars raised will go to support hunger relief throughout Ohio.”
The campaign is running from July through September, and involves asking churches, organizations, student groups, and communities to place food container-type cans labeled “Nothing” in local businesses, schools, and other areas, to collect funds for their area food banks. Cans are available from OASHF. Individual Cans of Nothing can be purchased for $3, which in turn will help provide 12 meals for hungry Ohioans. This stretching of food dollars is possible due to the area food bank distribution centers, who can obtain large quantities of food at tremendous cost savings in order to distribute to area food banks.
OASHF is not only asking for individuals and groups to contact them to participate in the Nothing campaign, but are also suggesting other ways in which all can make a difference for their hungry fellow citizens.
- Donate online at http://www.nothing.org/Ohio or $10 via text by texting FOODBANK to 85944
- Volunteer at local food banks to collect, organize and distribute food.
- Conduct regular canned food drives for local food banks at workplaces, schools, and churches.
- Hold a business or organization Nothing Challenge to see who can do the most ‘something’ about ‘nothing.’
- Have a brown bag lunch day at work, where everyone packs their lunch and donates the amount they would have spent eating out that day to the Nothing campaign.
- Check out the Nothing campaign on Facebook and share it with friends.
To learn more, go to the http://www.nothing.org/Ohio, fax 614-221-4338, or contact Charles Barber, communications manager, OASFH, at 51 North High Street, Suite 761, Columbus, Ohio 43215.
Said Barber, “Too many people throughout Ohio regularly experience hunger. This is unacceptable. We can and we must do better.”
“It’s sometimes difficult for many of us to realize the pain and despair suffered by our friends and neighbors who don’t have enough to eat,” said Charles Barber, of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF). “Millions of Ohioans just like you and I drive to work each day, zooming past hundreds of homes, and behind too many of those front doors, the cupboards are truly bare.”
Hunger has many faces. A senior citizen on a fixed income who must stretch the ingredients for one typical meal to cover two, three, four or more meals in order to get by. It may be a junior high school student whose single mother works afternoons, who comes home from school to find that the refrigerator holds nothing but a bottle of ketchup, or an out-of-work father who has five hungry mouths to feed and is scraping to find loose change for a loaf of bread and a carton of milk.
To bring attention to the plight of hungry Ohioans, the OASHF has launched an innovative media campaign, titled ‘Nothing.’ They are hoping that the effort, which focuses on encouraging everyday Ohioans to become aware of the needs of their neighbors, and learn how to do something with ‘nothing.’
“The campaign enforces the cold, tough fact that for thousands of Ohioans, too often there’s nothing to eat,” said Barber. “In partnership with Charter One Bank, the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and member food banks are participating in a statewide campaign to raise awareness and funds that will help feed our hungry friends and neighbors. 100 percent of the dollars raised will go to support hunger relief throughout Ohio.”
The campaign is running from July through September, and involves asking churches, organizations, student groups, and communities to place food container-type cans labeled “Nothing” in local businesses, schools, and other areas, to collect funds for their area food banks. Cans are available from OASHF. Individual Cans of Nothing can be purchased for $3, which in turn will help provide 12 meals for hungry Ohioans. This stretching of food dollars is possible due to the area food bank distribution centers, who can obtain large quantities of food at tremendous cost savings in order to distribute to area food banks.
OASHF is not only asking for individuals and groups to contact them to participate in the Nothing campaign, but are also suggesting other ways in which all can make a difference for their hungry fellow citizens.
- Donate online at http://www.nothing.org/Ohio or $10 via text by texting FOODBANK to 85944
- Volunteer at local food banks to collect, organize and distribute food.
- Conduct regular canned food drives for local food banks at workplaces, schools, and churches.
- Hold a business or organization Nothing Challenge to see who can do the most ‘something’ about ‘nothing.’
- Have a brown bag lunch day at work, where everyone packs their lunch and donates the amount they would have spent eating out that day to the Nothing campaign.
- Check out the Nothing campaign on Facebook and share it with friends.
To learn more, go to the http://www.nothing.org/Ohio, fax 614-221-4338, or contact Charles Barber, communications manager, OASFH, at 51 North High Street, Suite 761, Columbus, Ohio 43215.
Said Barber, “Too many people throughout Ohio regularly experience hunger. This is unacceptable. We can and we must do better.”
Published: August 17, 2011
