As the holiday season approaches, we brace ourselves for the messages of retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving night, encouraging Black Friday shopping, and—should you miss the weekend sales extravaganzas— the arrival of Cyber Monday. During this time, it is easy for us to focus on purchasing trendy gadgets to give our family and friends but with 49 million Americans living in food insecure households, we should remember to focus on giving and supporting our neighbors.
Food insecurity, meaning people do not know where they will find their next meal, is not as uncommon as we may think. Though it is 2013, “hunger still kills more people every year than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined”; this is not only happening in the developing world but in the United States as well. In the state of Georgia, for example, 20 percent of all Georgians are food insecure, with food stamp recipients increasing by 62 percent in the last three years.
Although we cannot solve issues like poverty, homelessness, and unemployment overnight, we can support and advocate for community organizations that serve food insecure households. Organizations like Feeding America, Second Harvest Heartland, Hosea Feed the Hungry, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank have galvanized corporations and individual community members to advocate for better nutrition policies as well as donate their time and money toward hunger outreach.
This holiday season, the Danya Team will donate 150 cans to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank. But we won’t stop there. For every retweet and/or mention of #danyagives from November 25 through December 3, we will match it with another canned good to the Atlanta Community Food Bank—all the way up to 3,000 cans. Here are four easy ways to help us:
- Follow Danya International on Twitter, @danyaintl
- When you see a tweet with the hashtag, #danyagives, retweet it
- Share #danyagives with your followers
- Dreading post-Thanksgiving shopping? We have a better idea: #GivingTuesday on December 3. How will you get involved? #GivingTuesday
With your help, the team at Danya’s Atlanta Office can make this holiday season a memorable one for those in need.
By Kianta Key
Danya Blog 