November is National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Month. In the relatively rural state of Nebraska, where 93% of the land is used for the agricultural production of food, hunger may not seem like a rampant issue. But according to Feeding America, one in every eight Nebraskans struggles with hunger. This means that 13. 2% of the Nebraska population is food insecure.
The reasons for hunger in the United States are often due to poverty. Low-income families with children are more vulnerable to food insecurity and have a harder time putting food on the table at the end of the day. Luckily, Lincoln, NE is not only the home of many cornfields and ranches, but it also provides many hunger-relieving programs for its growing population. UNL as an institution is even challenging its students to get involved with a program called Dare to Care, a competition between student groups to donate the most food to the Food Bank of Lincoln during the first week of November. Groups can begin registering as a team on Wed., Oct. 21, and on Nov. 6, teams will bring all of their food donations to the Nebraska East Union on East Campus where their contributions will be counted and recorded. The Food Bank of Lincoln will then sort and distribute the donated food so that families can have a nice Thanksgiving meal. Donation bins will also be available on both City & East Campus beginning Nov. 2 for individual students, faculty, and staff to contribute.
While the problem of hunger may hide in the pockets of Lincoln, the activism of the community’s young population is present and impactful. Stop by the Center for Civic Engagement to register your team, or learn more at engage.unl.edu.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/5wyh