Take Action During National Hunger Month

How You Can Help Make a Difference

In September, which is National Hunger Month, AARP Nevada is asking members to volunteer their time at local food banks, start their own food drive or give in some other way.

Nevada staff and member volunteers are getting involved too. For AARP’s 10th annual Day of Service, which was started as a tribute to remember 9-11; 50 people are already signed up to pack food boxes at Three Square, southern Nevada’s largest food bank. Northern Nevada volunteers will soon be working with local food banks to post their volunteer opportunities on AARP’s volunteer opportunities portal www.createthegood.org; so that members and the general public can better respond to local needs.

Our Country and State Have a Hunger Problem

Nevada’s problem is not unusual; in fact we’re fairly average when it comes to hunger issues. There are some 58 million Americans and 6 million seniors going hungry every day in our country; a statistic which is shocking for most.

The number of seniors facing hunger doubled from 2006 to 2008 to a staggering 10 percent. AARP responded by hosting a forum with the nation’s leading hunger and poverty experts; and applied our learnings to a new campaign to end senior hunger in 2011.

What AARP is Doing about the Problem

One of our most visible national efforts is our collaboration with NASCAR’s Hendricks Motorsports to sponsor the Drive to End Hunger car, with Jeff Gordon in Car #24. The media attention that’s been generated by this collaboration, which is the first social marketing campaign in the history of NASCAR, has greatly improved public awareness of the issue. At NASCAR races where the Drive to End Hunger sponsorship is featured, AARP hosts information booths, food drives, donation campaigns and other activities during the weeks leading up to the NASCAR race. In 2011, the Las Vegas Speedway was not a designated Drive to End Hunger race; though it could be in years to come.