Food Finders, Bread For The World, And Lafayette Urban Ministry Kickoff Hunger Action Month With Documentary Screening

Food Finders Food Bank, Bread for the World, and Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM) are kicking off Hunger Action Month by cohosting a free viewing of the Emmy-nominated documentary The Working Hungry. This 30-minute film tells the story of three families struggling with food insecurity in Indiana. It explains why systemic solutions are needed to ensure no family experiences hunger in our communities.

• The Working Hungry screening
• Thursday, August 31, 6:30-8:00 PM EST (Doors open at 6:00 PM)
• Long Center for the Performing Arts
• 111 N 6th St, Lafayette, IN 47901 Register here: https://go.bread.org/page/54718/survey/1

Following the screening, Bread for the World will lead a community discussion around systemic responses and solutions to hunger with a group of panelists including Michael Budd, CEO of Indiana United Way, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry President Emily Weikert-Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, Dr. Joe Balagtas, Ag-Econ Professor at Purdue University, Araceli Martinez, Student Leader of ACE Food Pantry at Purdue University, and Kier Crites Muller, President/CEO of Food Finders Food Bank.

This September, people across our 16-county service area in north central Indiana can get involved by listening, acting, and inviting others to speak up about ways to end hunger.

• Volunteer, donate, and advocate to end food insecurity
• Raise awareness by wearing orange on Hunger Action Day, Sept. 15
• Take part in Hunger Hike’s virtual Challenge Week from Sept. 10-17, we encourage you to set a personal fundraising goal and share it with your supporters. https://fundraise.givesmart.com/join/lum/HHIKE?vid=10dk1m

On Sept. 17, join Food Finders and LUM at Riehle Plaza at 1 p.m. to celebrate Hunger Hike 2023.

Join Food Finders on Sept. 28 at 12 p.m. We will end the month with a presentation on SNAP Myths by Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, at the Katy Bunder Resource and Education Center. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/snap-myths-presentation-tickets-698983166467

According to Kier Crites Muller, President/CEO of Food Finders Food Bank, “We are excited to launch Hunger Action Month this year with this collaboration between our friends at Bread for the World and LUM, it truly takes a village to tackle the issues around food insecurity. I hope you’ll join us for one or all of these events throughout September. Our latest data released this spring for the 16 counties served by Food Finders reported 65,000 people experiencing food insecurity in 2021. However, those numbers no longer reflect our reality, they show a snapshot of a year in the pandemic when the government, public, and charitable sectors worked in tandem and threw all available resources at hunger relief to mitigate the fallout from COVID-19 – and it worked, we saw the needle move from 12.4 percent of our area neighbors facing hunger to 11.1 percent – a difference of 10,000 people. This means change is possible, so keeping this conversation going is important.”

Hunger Action Month will highlight the impact of food on people’s lives and show how a meal goes beyond solely nourishing our bodies. When people are fed, futures are nourished, and individuals go from just living to truly thriving. Our collective voices, actions, and commitment will help ensure every community has the food it needs to flourish.

Hunger Action Month is a time for everyone nationwide to act against hunger collectively. You can choose to donate or advocate. You can choose to volunteer or raise awareness. You can choose to help end hunger. Learn more about how you can take action by visiting: https://www.food-finders.org/; https://www.bread.org/; https://www.lumserve.org