Tag Archives: Feeding America

June 12, 2013 · 1:21 pm

Interview: Tristan Chaput on Charity Miles for college

Charity Miles, the free smartphone app that lets you raise money to support causes while exercising, is taking the world by storm. Colleges is one of the places where this technological breakthrough in charity is happening.

At the College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio students are using the app. Tristan Chaput, the president of the Campus Activities Board there, talks about Charity Miles on her campus. She hopes that the school will be “national champs” in this charity sport.

How did you decide to get MSJ involved in Charity Miles?

It was really a spur of the moment thing! I was first introduced to Charity Miles through author William Lambers after winning a contest that he put together. I downloaded the app and used it when I was walking around campus from class to class and then I realized that the miles were really adding up. Bill mentioned making it a school-wide event. I am on the Campus Activities Board (CAB) at the Mount, so I brought it to the executive board. Everybody seemed excited about the idea of it, so it really took off. Some of our executive members are the ones who have collected the most miles so far. To get the campus involved, we decided to have a summer contest and see who can collect the most miles (the winner gets a prize). So far Mount students have collected 64.805 miles.

What kinds of charities are benefiting from your workouts?

Lately I have been working out for She’s the First, an organization that seeks to give girls in developing countries an education, since they are new to Charity Miles. I also do workouts for Wounded Warrior Project, Feeding America, and World Food Programme.

How many Charity Miles have you collected so far this summer?

19.602 miles

Do you think MSJ could be the leading college in terms of Charity Miles, even national champs?

I really think we could! Unlike larger campuses where you have to take shuttle buses from one side of campus to the other, MSJ is so small we walk everywhere! I know from experience that this is a great way to earn some Charity Miles! We also have a campus that is full of people who are always doing service, whether it’s service hours for a class or simply volunteering during his/her free time.

How does someone get involved with Charity Miles at your school and in the community?

For the community, it’s easy. All you have to do is download the free app Charity Miles on your iPhone or Android. Before your workout begins decide whether you want to walk, run, or bike. Then simply select the charity you want to help and press start. Students have one extra step they need to complete. At the end of the workout they need to either “share” their workout on CAB’s Facebook page (Campus Activities Board – MSJ) or on CAB’s Twitter page (@CAB_MSJ). When they do this they are automatically entered to win prizes.

article originally published at Cincinnati.com

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May 6, 2013 · 9:21 pm

Send Congress a Message with National Food Drive

The Stamp Out Hunger Drive takes place Saturday, May 11th. You can leave canned goods out for your letter carrier to be picked up and delivered to local food banks. Credit: Stamp Out Hunger

The Stamp Out Hunger Drive takes place Saturday, May 11th. You can leave canned goods out for your letter carrier to be picked up and delivered to local food banks. Credit: Stamp Out Hunger

On Saturday, May 11, Americans can send a powerful message about ending hunger by taking part in the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Leave non-perishable canned goods by your mailbox that morning, and they will be picked up by your letter carrier and distributed to local food banks.

Hunger is a silent but massive crisis facing over 50 million Americans. Lines of people are gathering at food pantries, which they depend on to get through difficult times. We have to make sure that food banks have enough supplies to meet the increasing demand.

The Stamp Out Hunger Drive offers a quick and easy way to support the food banks.

But more is needed. Congress must also be sent a message. Over the course of a year food banks cannot get by solely on the generous donations they receive from the community. They also need the help of the Federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

Over 1,300 hunger relief agencies recently sent a letter to Congress urging support for TEFAP in the upcoming Farm Bill legislation. The letter stated that TEFAP “has not kept pace with growing demand and “has actually declined recently, making it difficult for the program and food banks to keep up with demand…In 2012, more than half of Feeding America food banks experienced declines in TEFAP [of] more than 40 percent.”

Congress has to get its priorities in order when making budget decisions. The American people can let them know that funding TEFAP is essential to holding the fort until we can get some significant economic recovery.

On May 11, the National Food Drive offers you a chance to feed the hungry in your community and send a powerful message to Congress that eradicating hunger needs to be a priority.

Article first published as Send Congress a Message with National Food Drive on Blogcritics.

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March 30, 2013 · 11:16 pm

Help Fight Hunger in America from Your Kitchen

The Child Hunger Ends Here program is part of ConAgra Foods’ ongoing commitment to help end child hunger in America. For every code entered by 8/31/13, ConAgra Foods will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal to Feeding America Credits: ConAgra Foods

This week I have an Easter oped in the Des Moines Register with some free ways you can fight world hunger using Charity Miles and FreeRice. There is another way too using groceries you might already have in your own kitchen.

ConAgra Foods has placed special codes on many of its products. These include Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice, Hunts Tomato Sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Marie Callender and many others. When you see a red push pin on the product label that says Child Hunger Ends Here, the eight digit code is right next to it in a blue box.

You then go to the web site Child Hunger Ends Here, enter the 8 digit code, click submit and ConAgra will donate 1 meal to Feeding America. This will support food banks across the country which are part of the Feeding America network. So far 741,545 codes have been entered since January 11th and the goal is to reach 3 million meals.

When you visit the site you can view information about hunger in your state. There is also a complete list of ConAgra products where you can find the codes.

It’s an easy way to help support food banks with products you might very well have in your kitchen right now.

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February 25, 2013 · 2:55 pm

College Class to Help Feed the Hungry

It was Helen Keller who said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” I recently used that great quote while speaking to a class at the College of Mount St. Joseph (MSJ).

The students there are going to help fight global hunger by playing FreeRice and walking Charity Miles as part of their Cincinnati Authors course. Ashley Eilers of the MSJ school paper reports on this service learning set up by Professor Jeff Hillard.

With FreeRice the students will be raising donations for the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the largest agency fighting hunger. The FreeRice donations will feed children in Niger, a country that suffered a severe drought and near famine last year. With Charity Miles, the free cell phone app that generates donations when you exercise, the students will help both WFP and Feeding America.

The Mount’s Leadership Pathways program had a FreeRice event earlier this year. It was a student in last year’s Cincinnati Authors class, Elizabeth Paff, whose enthusiasm put this plan in motion.

Paff did not have a cell phone with internet connectivity so she was unable to download and use the Charity Miles app. That did not stop her, though. She did her own form of Charity Miles, running and fundraising for Plumpy’nut to feed malnourished children. Since October we have raised donations for over 1,300 meals for Feeding America, the World Food Programme, and Edesia through our combined Charity Miles program.

Last week I ran to the Anderson Ferry Food Pantry in Delhi, Ohio. It’s part of the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank’s network of agencies fighting hunger in the area. The Pantry is short on donations while they have seen an increase in demand, a familiar scene across the country, with over 50 million Americans food-insecure.

A walk or run to your local food pantry, using Charity Miles, might be a good way to raise money and find out what is happening with hunger in your community. If there is a food shop nearby you might be able to finish your run there and purchase some supplies for the pantry as well.

Sherrie Kleinholz, a great advocate for the homeless, and I teamed up for a food drive last summer that benefited the Anderson Ferry Pantry as well as Our Daily Bread, and the Care Barrel at Our Lady of Victory Church. The food drive was in honor of my mother who passed away from cancer. One of the donors was scheduled shortly for surgery but still took the time to gather food and leave it out for pickup. Kleinholz also spoke to the Cincinnati Authors class prior to my presentation.

Feeding America is encouraging everyone to get involved in the Together We Can Solve Hunger campaign. The best ideas to help fight hunger are the ones you adapt or create on your own. So get involved as soon as you can.

Article first published as College Class to Help Feed the Hungry on Blogcritics.

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February 22, 2013 · 2:20 am

Together We Can End Hunger

John Young, former president of the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank, has spent a lifetime helping others. It was very early in his humanitarian career that he discovered how you can end hunger and poverty.

As a teenager he volunteered at a hospital one day to feed elderly patients, some very close to death. It was a difficult task and made him a little unsure about going back again. But when he did return for a second day, he saw the joy from the patients because someone cared enough to come back to help them.

Young learned that that is how you make a difference, you get involved and stay connected. If enough people do that hunger and poverty can be eliminated.

The answer to the societal problem of hunger can be found right here in your own backyard. The Freestore Foodbank, for instance, has provided a safety net, and a way out, for people in Cincinnati suffering from hunger. Those solutions are found in the strength of volunteers coming forward like Young did and then going on to become leaders.

There is enough food for everyone in the world, and we can do a much better job preventing food waste. So ending hunger is not something where a miracle cure has to be discovered. It’s a case of stepping up the effort and getting more people involved.

Using the award-winning online game FreeRice, College of Mount St. Joseph (MSJ) students are answering questions in a variety of subjects like vocabulary and science. Every correct answer means 10 grains of rice donated to the UN World Food Programme. The rice is being sent to the school feeding program in Niger, a country that suffered from severe drought and is hosting refugees from the war in Mali. For many children in these impoverished, developing countries, the school meal might be the only one they receive the whole day.

Last fall I did a story on Ithaca College and how they make use of FreeRice as part of their hunger relief program called Food for Thought.

There are many ways now that people, schools, and organizations can get involved to end hunger. There is even a free app people can download onto their smartphones called Charity Miles. When your walk, run, or bike the app keeps track of your distance and for every mile a donation is made to Feeding America or the World Food Programme. You select the charity and the results get posted to your Facebook page. There are lot of athletes and teams so the potential for Charity Miles is amazing.

Charity Miles is partnering with Feeding America for the Together We Can Solve Hunger Campaign. “The campaign provides people with simple, easy ways to engage in the fight against hunger,” said Shannon Traeger, spokesperson for Feeding America. “With more than 50 million Americans living at risk of hunger, including more than one in five children, we’re encouraging everyone to do their part.”

Find a way to get involved and fight hunger. Educate others and get them involved too. This dedication can make a difference in ending hunger here at home and across the globe. The solution to this menace to mankind is right here in front of us.

Article first published as Together We Can End Hunger on Blogcritics.

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February 12, 2013 · 6:17 pm

Hunger Critical Issue for State of the Union

Hunger in AmericaAs President Obama delivers the State of the Union address he will need to build bipartisan support for ending the great threat to peace and economic stability: hunger.

Whether in the U.S. or far away in South Sudan or Syria, hunger cannot be ignored, or placed on the back burner as an issue for others to deal with. The President needs to show powerful leadership and the State of the Union offers this opportunity.

Hunger is striking over 50 million people within the United States alone, of whom about 17 million are children. Supporting America’s system of food banks is crucial to keeping a safety net for those struggling. The food banks can then help individuals stay afloat and escape poverty through the local solutions they utilize.

Bob Aiken, president of Feeding America says, “While we understand the challenges facing President Obama and Congress as they work to address the deficit, and make decisions on spending priorities, we urge them to protect programs that help our most vulnerable citizens and neighbors put food on the table.”

Feeding America says, “With historically high unemployment and many families scraping by on reduced wages, or part-time hours, the need for food assistance in our country has never been greater.”

“We hear heartbreaking stories every day from people who come to the food pantries and soup kitchens served by the Feeding America network. Our food bank in Orlando recently told us a story about an elderly woman who walked nearly a mile to take a public bus to a food pantry and fainted while standing in line; a pantry volunteer gave the woman a ride to her home, which had little furniture and empty cupboards. It’s one of many stories our food banks hear on a daily basis,” says Aiken.

Worldwide, hunger is afflicting over 870 million people. The crisis in Syria has rapidly increased the ranks of the hungry in the Middle East. The UN World Food Programme is feeding about 2.5 million people inside Syria and is expecting to feed another 750,000 who have fled to neighboring countries.

The WFP’s biggest supporter is the U.S. Food for Peace program. Congress is not putting much support toward this initiative, though, and in fact there are some plans to reduce the funding. This would have a huge impact on the ability to respond to humanitarian emergencies such as Syria. If hunger thrives in the Middle East we can hardly expect peace and stability to emerge in that region.

In Mali, where the government is fighting off Islamic extremists, it is food aid such as the McGovern-Dole school meals program that is helping keep children healthy in a time of crisis. Catholic Relief Services is feeding tens of thousands of children there because of this McGovern-Dole grant. We should not reduce funding for these programs that fight hunger and help promote peace.

Afghanistan is another country where hunger reigns and peace remains elusive. Children are stunted from birth because of malnutrition leaving little hope for the future of the country.

South Sudan is trying to build peace with its northern neighbor Sudan. It’s also trying to build peace within, after years of tribal conflict in Jonglei and other states. At the same time South Sudan is desperately trying to save its own children from starvation.

The UN World Food Programme says that “nearly one-third of children under 5 are stunted, 23 percent are wasted, and 28 percent are underweight” in the country.

The charity Save the Children has nutrition programs in South Sudan where severely malnourished children are brought to receive a special peanut paste called Plumpy’nut. This is a special food that can rescue children from death or lifelong physical and mental damage. Save the Children has a crisis fund to help South Sudan.

These are the types of heroic food plans that save lives and form the foundation for peace. The President needs to rally the Congress and the country to end this hunger menace at home and abroad.

Article first published as Hunger Critical Issue for State of the Union on Blogcritics.

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January 17, 2013 · 6:53 pm

Feeding America and Charity Miles

You can run, walk or bike and raise money for Feeding America using the Charity Miles free application

You can run, walk or bike and raise money for Feeding America using the Charity Miles free application

Do you walk, run, or bike? Do you plan to get started soon, but need a little extra motivation? Do you own a Smartphone?

If you answered yes to these three questions, then you could be exercising and supporting Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, at the same time. All you have to do is download the free app called Charity Miles. Every mile you run, walk or bike raises money for charities of your choice.

This past fall I began to see tweets from Feeding America and the UN World Food Programme about Charity Miles and combining fitness with philanthropy. My own form of exercise had been walking, and I didn’t own a cell phone, but in late September, I took the plunge. I bought a cell phone and decided to start running.

For me, I choose Feeding America as my charity to support during my runs. The Charity Miles app keeps track of your distance and posts the results to your Facebook page. For every mile you run or walk, 25 cents is donated to Feeding America. Biking raises 10 cents per mile. Every mile helps provide meals to people facing hunger through Feeding America.

Rome was said to be built on seven hills, but here in Western Hills, OH—where I live—it seems like there are 7,000 hills! Saying it is “hilly” here is an understatement. My running paths may be tough, but my mission is always clear—every step I take, and every mile I run, I can help people struggling with food insecurity. To date, people just like me have helped Charity Miles raise more than $19,000 for Feeding America.

Imagine how many meals could be raised if whole track teams starting using the Charity Miles app. Or, if every runner in this April’s Boston Marathon used Charity Miles.

Strength in numbers. This is the whole idea behind Feeding America’s Together We Can Solve Hunger campaign, launching at the beginning of February. Charity Miles is one of several ways you can help end hunger. Check back in with Feeding America at the beginning of February to find out how you can participate in the Together We Can Solve Hunger campaign.

It’s time to report for duty. There is enough food in the world for everyone. Let’s solve hunger—together!

Visit FeedingAmerica.org and CharityMiles.org for more information.

Originally published at Feeding America

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November 26, 2012 · 4:57 am

Running Charity Miles to Fight Hunger and Cancer

You can use the free app Charity Miles to help fight hunger. (photo courtesy of Charity Miles)

On Thanksgiving I got the chance to raise money for three charities: Stand up 2 Cancer, Feeding America, and the World Food Programme. All this by simply running and using a free app called Charity Miles.

I bought an Android phone a couple of months ago and downloaded the free Charity Miles app. You select a charity and choose whether you are going to run, walk, or bike. The app keeps track of your miles. Every mile you cover leads to a donation to the charity of your choice. The results of your runs get posted to your Facebook page.

I started out on Thanksgiving day with a three-mile run and took a little break to submit the results so Stand up 2 Cancer could earn the donation. The three miles I ran donated about seven minutes of cancer research.

The next three-mile run was for Feeding America and this donated about eight meals. As a member of the Feeding America Blogger Council I was also busy getting an online petition set up to support America’s foodbanks. So please sign this petition.

After another much-needed break especially considering the very hilly terrain I was running (the place is called Western Hills), my plan was to next run for the World Food Programme (WFP). My phone had a glitch so I lost about a mile’s worth. However, I did run a little over two miles after that, leading to a donation of five meals to WFP.

I also was able to mention Charity Miles to a few people I passed along the way.

Just as I am writing this I have received a message from Charity Miles stating:

“Yesterday was Charity Miles’ biggest day ever! Over 8,900 miles in one day – nearly half of which were for Feeding America, helping to feed over 15,000 people! What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving!”

I am happy to be nine of those miles yesterday and to raise money for causes I am very involved with. My column here, primarly about world hunger, is nearing its 500th article.

I was glad to see Stand up 2 Cancer recently added to the Charity Mile list. I know how deeply devastating this disease is. My mother passed away from lung and brain cancer this summer.

There are many other charities as well that you can help when you join. I never used a cell phone or Android before starting this, so for experienced people it should be relatively easy to set up.

Article first published as Running Charity Miles to Fight Hunger and Cancer on Blogcritics.

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November 2, 2012 · 4:26 pm

End National Tragedy of Hunger

Donations are needed more than ever by food banks and pantries across the country (author’s photo)

This week I have a letter in the New York Times on fighting hunger in America. As President Ronald Reagan said, “If even one American child is forced to go to bed hungry at night, or if one senior citizen is denied the dignity of proper nutrition, that is a national tragedy.”

The need for public donations and a strong federal emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) has never been greater. Matt Knott, the president of Feeding America, says, “We have seen a tremendous rise in the number of people coming to the food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency feeding centers served by Feeding America food banks since 2007, including many middle class families seeking assistance for the first time.”

Yet funding for TEFAP is not keeping up with the demand created by these difficult economic times.

Ohio, an election battleground state, has been hit hard, with 15.5 percent of its population facing “food insecurity” and 6.4 percent facing “very low food security,” “meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced…because the household lacked money and other resources for food.”

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks says, “Our hunger relief network is strained, and state and federal programs face the risk of funding losses that cannot be overcome.”

Kurt Reiber, president of Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank, says, “we have seen a drop off in the amount of food that we receive through the USDA’s TEFAP program this year as compared to prior years.”

Hunger forces families into difficult decisions. A Feeding America study showed that “34 percent of client households report having to choose between paying for medical bills and food.” It can create a spiraling effect of destruction for individuals, families, and entire communities. Health, educational performance, and work production all can suffer as a result of hunger, making it much harder for recovery.

With food prices expected to rise next year, this will put even more strain on those already in poverty. It will become more difficult for food banks to acquire a supply to help those in need.

Despite this alarming hunger crisis, Congress is also planning reductions in food stamps which will eliminate free school meals for nearly 300,000 children in the U.S. School meals have been a safety net for children for decades and help boost learning. To lose them now would be catastrophic to America.

What can be done? Citizens can help by supporting their local food banks and many of their programs, including weekend backpack food programs for schoolchildren. Citizens can also write to their representatives asking they support hunger-fighting programs like TEFAP and food stamps.

Making your voice heard through words and actions is essential to ending the national tragedy of hunger.

Article first published as End National Tragedy of Hunger on Blogcritics.

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October 20, 2012 · 3:47 pm

How to Use Charity Miles to Raise Funds for the World Food Programme and Feeding America

Here is a video and some instructions on how to use the free app Charity Miles to help raise funds for the World Food Programme, Feeding America and other charities while you walk, run or bike.  (courtesy Ekaterina Oshepkova of the World Food Programme)

How do I use the app Charity Miles?

1. Download the application at charitymiles.org

2. It will ask you to connect via Facebook. Note, without a Facebook account, you will not be able to use the application. Also, your GPS must be on. (most cell phones apparently already have this on)

3. When you are ready to exercise, select the charity in which you will be exercising for. You can do so by sliding the screen until you see WFP, which is the 10th charity.

4. Select, walk, run, or bike. The application will then start & track your distance.

5. When you are finished, or want to take a break, select stop.

6. If you wish to resume, select resume. If you are finished, select finish.

7. When you are finished with your exercise, the application will prompt you to accept sponsorship. Accept Sponsorship. If you do not accept sponsorship and allow a post to your Facebook wall, no money will be donated to the charity.

 

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