The Feeding America nationwide network of food banks successfully kicked off our annual Hunger Action Month campaign on Sept. 1. Hunger Action Month is our month-long effort to engage the nation in the fight to end hunger. It’s the opportunity to join a movement that has a real and lasting impact on our effort to feed more Americans than ever before.

New this year, Feeding America has made a spoon the main icon of the campaign. A spoon has an inherent link to food; it’s how we feed ourselves and feed our children. It symbolizes not always having food, and the millions of American’s who face this issue. From social activations to print ads, the spoon is our means to educate the public on the issue of hunger and get everyone involved this “Spoontember™.”

It has been a very exciting first week of Hunger Action Month, with many notable highlights to share!

  • Spoon Selfies: As part of Spoontember, the Feeding America network has launched a social media activation to engage the public and help raise awareness of the 1 in 6 Americans struggling with hunger. Spoontember supporters can share a “spoon selfie” – an image of themselves balancing a spoon on their nose – along with hunger-related statistics, and challenge a friend to do the same.

Several celebrity supporters as well as members of Feeding America’s Entertainment Council have already joined in and lent their voices to the issue by taking spoon selfies, including Lance Bass, Alton Brown, Andrew Zimmern, Samantha Harris, Carla Hall, Jennie Garth, Betsy Brandt, Mario Batali, Miss World America, Larry King and more. Savannah Guthrie of Today also took a spoon selfie, and took an additional photo with our Hunger Action Month street team in Times Square on Sept. 3.

 Join us! Take your spoon selfie today and challenge a friend to do the same! Don’t forget to tag @FeedingAmerica, and use #Spoontember & #HungerActionMonth. More details here.

Corporate Partner Involvement: Several of Feeding America’s generous partners have lent their valued support by activating programs around Hunger Action Month:

  • Cheeky™ has produced Hunger Action Month-inspired orange plastic cutlery, exclusively on sale at Target®. For each Cheeky item purchased, Cheeky will donate the monetary equivalent of approximately one meal to Feeding America. Cheeky has also provided 100,000 spoons to online influencers and 180 Feeding America member food banks, to use for spoon selfies and local activations. Finally, Cheeky and their chief culinary ambassador, celebrity chef Mario Batali, are challenging fans to post spoon selfies on social media, sponsoring usage of the #Spoontember on Twitter and Instagram.
  • The Great American MilkDrive is donating a gallon of milk to Feeding America for every share of the “Strength in Numbers” Facebook and Twitter posts on our social media pages during Hunger Action MonthTLC launched “Give A Little TLC” with a new PSA empowering viewers to make a difference in the lives of people in need. The initiative kicked off in support of Feeding America on Hunger Action Day with the release of its new Give A Little TLC PSA, social support and spoon selfies from its show talent, turning its properties orange including its TV logo and announcing that it will provide 1 million meals to Feeding America by the end of 2015! 

On Hunger Action Day® (Thursday, September 3rd), representatives from the Feeding America National Office and our strategic and creative partners at the Advertising Council and 360i had a street team in Times Square in New York City, handing out individually-wrapped orange spoons to passersby, with hunger statistics and information on how to take a spoon selfie to raise awareness this Hunger Action Month. Once shared via social media with a special hashtag, photos were displayed on a billboard in Times Square, which was generously donated for the activation by Viacom. Check out the photos here!

Many exciting local activations took place during week 1 of HAM, including local celebrities taking spoon selfies, buildings and monuments turning orange, exciting partnerships with local business, and more. Get a sneak peek at some of the action below:

  • Columbia, MO: The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri unveiled their giant spoon construction. 
  • Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dippy the Dinosaur knows that orange is the official color of the Hunger Action Month campaign – chick out Dippy’s new accessory.

We’ve only just begun, and look forward to sharing more exciting Hunger Action Month news and highlights over the coming weeks!

Be sure to join us this month in raising awareness of the 1 in 6 people struggling with hunger in America. Visit HungerActionMonth.org to get involved today!

*Lisa Gervasio is the senior marketing specialist at Feeding America.

**Photo courtesy of Ad Council.

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