Cincinnati, Ohio has been a trendsetter with “penny lunches” and school feeding to fight hunger. Now the city is home to another innovation: Hunger-fighting zombies!
The 6th annual Cincinnati Zombie Walk took place tonight. The zombies did more than take over the streets of the Queen City. They also donated canned goods to the Freestore Foodbank, the lead hunger relief agency in the area.
The Freestore Foodbank works in 20 counties across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Its headquarters is in Cincinnati. People struggling with hunger can turn to the Freestore and its network of pantries for help. The Freestore depends on donations from the public (zombies included) as well as federal government programs.
Hunger is a major crisis in counties where the Freestore operates. In Hamilton County, for example, over 18 percent of the population is “food insecure.” The rate of child hunger in Hamilton County is even higher at 22 percent.
Families struggling with hunger rely on safety nets like food stamps and food banks. However, last year cuts in the federal food stamp program meant people would turn more often to food banks for help. So there is an even greater need for donations to the Freestore and other members of the Feeding America network.
The zombies set a good, although somewhat scary, example. There is strength in numbers. The more people, or zombies, that get involved in the fight against hunger, the greater chance of ending this social injustice.
Read the article at Examiner.
Author William Lambers 