Hunger Action Month
Published on August 30, 2024
September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness about hunger in America and inspire action. This is also a time to create awareness about food insecurity. As part of the SA Forward plan, the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health) launched a community-based education campaign focused on addressing food insecurity.
SA Forward's Health Equity and Social Justice priority area serves as the backbone support for the Health Equity Network (HEN). The HEN is a group of 40 partners working together to reduce health disparities by improving:
- food insecurity
- housing stability
- access to respectful care in San Antonio
Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is when families must choose between having enough food to eat and paying a medical or utility bill or rent. These are hard choices to make, and we know over 200,000 residents and one out of five children in Bexar County experience food insecurity.
Food shouldn’t be an impossible choice. Yet, for millions of people in America, a daily meal isn’t a choice between different dishes. It's a choice between food and other crucial needs—like medicine, electricity, or childcare.
Create Awareness of Food Insecurity
The HEN believes the voice of the community is a powerful way to affect change. National Hunger Action Day is September 10. Go orange for Hunger Action Month. Put on your finest orange shirt, pants or accessories for Hunger Action Month and share a photo of yourself on social media. Tell others about the fight to end hunger using the hashtags #HungerActionMonth, #EndHungerNow, #HENSA.
Donate or Volunteer
Whether it is donating food, money, time, or your voice, there are many ways to support this collective effort. To volunteer at one of the markets please reach out to host vendors directly or email Health Equity Network.
Learn more about how you can get involved by visiting our partner sites:
Community Engagement in Public Health
Community members play a crucial role in public health by:
- identifying and defining health issues
- developing and improving solutions
- advocating for policy changes
- sharing important information
- implementing health initiatives
Successful health improvements in our community rely on:
- aligning and coordinating efforts among a wide range of partners
- promoting health
- preventing disease
- ensuring access to respectable care