Why am I skipping lunch? Why am I wearing orange during the month of September? Why do I care about hunger?
Because I know that sitting down to three meals a day should not be a choice and that there are over 680,000 people who are hungry in the Washington metro region. I know that I can make a difference by skipping lunch and ensuring that everyone has access to the most basic human right – food!
September is Hunger Action Month, which is symbolized by the color orange. By wearing orange, I am helping to guarantee that everyone has access to healthy, affordable food. In this land of excess, it’s hard to believe that people go to bed at night with empty bellies, especially children. I have also created a Skip Lunch, Feed a Bunch team and am encouraging Gettysburg College students, alumni and friends to donate what they would normally spend on lunch to the food bank.
I remember in college when I had to forgo breakfast in order to run off to class after waking up late. I sat in class trying to concentrate on Descartes and spider webs, when all I could think about was my rumbling belly and painful headache. It breaks my heart to think that a child, who is learning his or her ABC’s, has to deal with the same issue but that it wasn’t a choice.
So what can you do to help in the struggle against hunger? You can participate in Skip Lunch Feed a Bunch by creating a team, wear orange this month and upload a picture to Feeding America’s Facebook page, or donate today.