‘All Smile’ as part of the ‘Shine a Light on Hunger’ campaign this year
OMAHA, Nebraska (Nebraska) – Everyone smiles this year for Shine the Light on Hunger. The campaign raised over $3 million, more than four times its goal. This means over 12 million meals have been shipped this year.
“The need is still there and this campaign, what they are doing, the amount of money they have raised is so good for the community,” Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said.
Volunteers have an assembly line going to Food Bank for Heartland. The food here supports up to 600 pantries in Nebraska and western Iowa. It will help feed almost two million people this year.
“Just because we’ve raised enough food and funds for 12.4 million people this year doesn’t mean we can close our doors and call it all good,” said Food Bank for the Heartland President and CEO Brian Barks. . “The work still needs to be done. We are facing a situation of famine that we have never seen before.”
Inflation and high prices in supermarkets, especially for protein, groceries and dairy products, affect how much food passes through this pipeline.
“What also adds to the cost is the transportation costs to get the product here,” Barks said. “It has risen as much, if not more, than food prices.”
The Shine a Light on Hunger campaign was a huge success this year, but the need doesn’t go away when the holidays come to an end.
“When you think about it, if someone needs food aid for Thanksgiving or Christmas, there is a good chance they will need it in July and August as well.
It’s important that the spirit of the holiday season of giving continues throughout the year so that donations continue to flow and volunteers work to get food where it’s needed.
Food Bank for the Heartland officials told 6 News they were serving 40% more people than they were when the pandemic hit and the need for food aid soared.
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