We food bloggers spend a lot of time with food.  Eating food.  Complaining about food. Experimenting with food.  Over-thinking food.  Traveling for food.  Food, for many of us, is a hobby.  

But for an awful lot of people, food is simply a necessity, and one which is hard to come by. This situation isn't getting any better.  

Some stats, from the Community Food Bank of New Jersey:

• More than 35 million Americans, including 12 million children, either live with or are on the verge of hunger. - USDA, Household Food Security in the United States, 2006
• The number of families coming to churches and food banks trying to get help to feed their families has increased approximately 20 percent. - National Anti-Hunger Organizations, 2008 Blueprint to End Hunger
• According to a recent survey, 6 percent of Americans said they or someone in their immediate family has gone to bed hungry in the past month because they could not afford enough food. - 2008 Hormel Hunger Survey
• One out of every five New Jersey families does not earn enough to afford the basic necessities – housing, food and child care – although 85 percent of these households have at least one family member who is working. – Poverty Research Institute, June 2008
• In New Jersey alone, an estimated 250,000 new clients will be seeking sustenance this year from the state’s food banks. – “No Food on the table,” By Judy Peet, The Star-Ledger, Oct. 23, 2008
• At the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. - CFBNJ
• Warehouse shelves that are typically stocked with food are bare and supplies have gotten so low that, for the first time in its 25 year history, the food bank is developing a rationing mechanism. - CFBNJ  

 

Spearheaded by a New Jersey blogger at Jersey Bites, over 100 New Jersey bloggers have gotten together today, 12/15/08, to raise the awareness of the hunger issues in New Jersey.  Bruce Springsteen is lending his voice as well (he's not a blogger, as far as I know, but we let him in anyway).  We're blogging out hunger!

Really though, 100 narcissists bloggers posting about the issues food banks are facing doesn't actually help.  But you can help.  Contact the Community Food Bank of NJ, or any food bank for that matter, for details on how you can help. Watch the below clip to find out more about the current situation, and how you can help.  Whether it's by getting involved in a food drive, or just donating a buck at checkout when you're shopping for that dry-aged steak that you love so much.  Click on The Boss's face above and print out the donation info. Helping is easier than you think.