A can of food – a symbol and a call to action. When most people think of helping the hungry, they think of donating a can of food. The simple, humble can. What a powerful symbol.
Yes, donating a can of food to a food bank is a good first step. But it cannot be your only step, if you want to help lead the systemic change that’s needed to end hunger in America.
Today, we launch WeCanEndThis.com, a yearlong initiative to shift the conversation about hunger in America and create real, tangible solutions. We start by turning a symbol into a call to action.
Thanks to the generosity of Tyson Foods, we have 10 semi-truckloads of much-needed protein to deliver to food banks across the country. And, you can help us decide which 10 states will receive them.
When you promise to help end hunger, we will give you a digital can of food to donate to the state of your choice. On March 18 at 5pm ET, we will tally the digital cans and the Top Ten states will each win a truckload of real food.
15 days. 1.5 million meals. 10 states.
You can make an even bigger difference. For the first $25,000 donated to our charity partners, ConAgra Foods Foundation will double your impact thru a matching grant.
What are you waiting for? We have ten trucks to give away. Feel free to share this link to help spread the word: http://bit.ly/chpblg
19 Comments
Scottyhendo – I’m looking for to helping this campaign move along. http://www.pledgetoendhunger.com was a huge success and this year I’m hoping this campaign does so much more. It was a pleasure to help out on it.
In 1994-96 our organization (West Michigan’s Feeding America food bank) partnered with Michigan State University in ultimately international award-winning research on how America’s hunger problem can be addressed. Since then we’ve proven the formula we developed works. Our findings/formula can be found in the “Charity Food Programs….” manual available free on the “Resources” page of our web site: http://www.FeedingAmericaWestMichigan.org
There is no need to reinvent the wheel or to research “how to end hunger” again. We already know how to do it. We just need to get more communities making use of these practices.
Thanks, John, for sharing the study. You are right. We know how to end hunger in America. Many smart people have figured it out. Our biggest challenge is getting enough people to care about what needs to be done. That’s what we’re seeking to do here!
We hope you can help rally the state of Michigan and help grow the movement. We CAN end this!
Scott Henderson
Don: Thanks for your help and guidance last year and this year. We learn a lot each time and appreciate your ideas, strategic, and tactical advice.
I’m just curious as to who in each of the winning states will be receiving the donation. How is that being decided?
Alyssa:
Thanks for bringing this up. The Tyson Foods deliveries will be made directly to a food bank in the winning states. Tyson and CauseShift will select the food banks based on a combination of participation in the can drive, capacity to help us with the delivery and day of service phase, and ability to maximize the impact of the food donation.
The food will be limited in quantity, but the opportunity for each food bank to raise awareness and get more people engaged & participating is equal. We hope everyone can use this as a rising tide that helps us grow the entire movement now and in the future.
Scott Henderson
Scott,
Let me know how I can help.
This sounds like a nice project, except perhaps instead of saying that you’ll end hunger in America, you should just say the 48-contiguous states of America. I’m was excited to help in this project until I logged in and found that neither Alaska nor Hawaii were included. It is sad that both Tyson and Share Our Strength would participate in something that reads as if it’s fairly ending hunger across the country, when it’s not. Good luck.
Chef Tim:
Thank you for what you do for the kids in Connecticut! Your work to bring healthier school lunches and create local farms feeding these schools is exciting and needed.
P.H:
You raise a valid concern and I appreciate you voicing it. Yes, the opportunity to receive a truck load is constrained to the 48-contiguous states plus DC, because of logistic and distributions hurdles. We did not intend to blunt your enthusiasm and hope that you will join us in sharing the message despite our imperfection.
However, I want to clarify an important point. We are committed to ending hunger in EVERY state, district, and territory of the US. The Digital Can Drive is just one component – one designed to get people’s attention and start talking about hunger in America. It cannot and will not end hunger by itself. These ten truckloads represent a mere drop of water compared to the ocean of need. We need to use it as a pivot point to move people from apathy to engagement.
The March 15 – April 15 Cause Lab will be open to anyone, regardless of location, to submit their ideas & solutions, collaborate with others, and help us spark the wave of innovation that will be needed. We’d like nothing more than to see all 50 states represented in this 30-day virtual brainstorm.
Thanks again for your comment. Feel free to contact me at anytime thru the email address I sent you the personal reply.
Why is Oklahoma # 1 on this list? An empowering, sustainable answer is needed for our people. Let’s work on creative solutions!!
Donna – you hit the nail on the head. We want more people to talk, think, and solve this solvable problem. The Cause Lab kicking off March 15 will do exactly what you call for – generate creative solutions!
Dear Mr Arnold and others,
You will not end hunger this way. Period.
Mr. Arnold’s “forumula” for ending hunger: The formula is simple: Just multiply the number of people in the area who have incomes at or below the poverty level times 234 lbs. The total that results is as good an estimate of your community’s annual charity food assistance need as is available today.
This is totally absurd. The only thing this will ensure is that you have a job forever. It will NEVER end hunger in this county. It is not about food. It is about justice. Giving away free food does absolutely nothing to end hunger.
i am curious about something. i live in the tulsa, ok area. i have volunteered at an emergency food pantry that uses the cfbeo. i know that oklahoma city also has a food bank. if we won how do you decide which food bank it goes to? does it get split or…
Thanks for all your comments. You’ve helped highlight some of the core questions we face.
For those curious on how we will select which food banks in the winning states will receive the truck, we have posted this message and invite your comments and idea:
http://wecanendthis.com/2010/03/08/message-for-food-banks-and-other-local-hunger-groups/
Thank you Vermonters all across the nation and the world for participating in this program !!!
You are somewhat correct, Eric. Hunger is the symptom of a larger illness.
What will it take to cure that illness? That is a complex answer. I think one of the main components is education. And children who are not able to obtain the food they need to fuel their body, will not be able to receive the education they need in order to break the cycle of poverty. We do have the resources to provide relief for the symptom. And in applying relief to that symptom, we are in fact in some way addressing the illness.
You obviously have some passion for this issue. I respect that. This effort obviously isn’t the entire solution to the social injustices you refer to. But at least there is an attempt to promote action that will lead to change. My humble recommendation, is for you to be part of the solution instead of resorting to generalizations and negativity.
Vernont needs your help!
This is a cool website. Go Oklahoma Girl Scouts!
Let people know how to help and where they can help and more will be there.
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[...] today, I came across another opportunity for donors to help get emergency food to those in need. WeCanEndThis.com is running a contest to see which states can donate the most digital cans online. Feeding America [...]
[...] 15 Days to Bring 150,000 Meals to Your State. Ready? By wecanendthis | Published: 4 Mar A can of food – a symbol and a call to action. When most people think of helping the hungry, they think of donating a can of food. The simple, humble can. What a powerful symbol. Yes, donating a can of food to a food bank is a good first step. But it cannot be your only step, if you want to help lead the systemic change that’s needed to end hunger in America. Today, we launch WeCanEndThis.com, a yearlong initiative to shift the conversation about hunger in America and create real, tangible solutions. We start by turning a symbol into a call to action. Thanks to the generosity of Tyson Foods, we have 10 semi-truckloads of much-needed protein to deliver to food banks across the country. And, you can help us decide which 10 states will receive them. When you promise to help end hunger, we will give you a digital can of food to donate to the state of your choice. On March 18 at 5pm ET, we will tally the digital cans and the Top Ten states will each win a truckload of real food. 15 days. 1.5 million meals. 10 states. You can make an even bigger difference. For the first $25,000 donated to our charity partners, ConAgra Foods Foundation will double your impact thru a matching grant. What are you waiting for? We have ten trucks to give away. Feel free to share this link to help spread the word: http://bit.ly/chpblg [...]