You know that great feeling of being in a room full of people dedicated to the same cause? For hunger advocates, Monday was that day. Created as a way to help people speak directly to elected officials, Hunger Action Day brought together over 100 passionate advocates from across the state.
Still want to speak out against hunger?
If you didn’t have a chance to join this year’s Hunger Action Day, you can still speak out. Ask your elected officals to support anti-hunger programs.
Hunger Action Day Recap
The morning kicked off with a panel of speakers who explained the nuts and bolts of a range of different anti-hunger programs and legislation. Below are links to fact sheets on each of the 5 biggest priorities for this year’s state legislative session.
- Breakfast After the Bell
- Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) funding
- New state revenue (fact sheet 1) (fact sheet 2 )
- State Food Assistance funding
- Farmers Market Nutrition Program funding
Next up was Nancy Amidei who helped inspire attendees about the power of advocacy. She even demonstrated by persuading State Senator Hasegawa to give a spontaneous speech about how he is working to fight hunger in his district and across the state.
From there advocates formed teams based on their legislative districts (here’s how to find out yours) and went off to their afternoon meetings. This was their chance to tell elected officials why fighting hunger matters to them.
Some shared stories from their own experiences of how a trip to a food bank gave them hope. Others shared how food stamps made it possible for them to turn their lives around. Others shared about how they work every day in organizations dedicated to stopping hunger. Some brought with them years of public policy experience, while others had never been to the state capitol before.
The common denominator? Everyone can be an advocate against hunger.
