Academy Bank Works To Fight Hunger for “Days of Giving”

The end of 2022 is coming up soon, but many of us are looking forward to the holiday season -- whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, a combination of these, or something else. Of course, many of these holidays focus on spending time with family around the dinner table. But what if you don’t have enough food to put on that table?

From October 11-21, Academy Bank is participating in “Days of Giving” to help make a difference for families and children who experience food insecurity. Learn more about hunger and food insecurity in the U.S., and how we’re getting involved.

Food Insecurity in the U.S. 

What does it mean to be food insecure? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as cited by Feeding America:

“Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. This can be a temporary situation for a household or can last a long time. Food insecurity is one way we can measure how many people cannot afford food.”

According to the USDA, more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, experience food insecurity in the United States.

Food insecurity and hunger can impact people in all demographic groups and lifestyles. However, it often impacts some groups such as children and seniors, or Black and Indigenous people, at higher rates.

And the truth is that many people may be just one financial emergency -- such as a missed paycheck, a lost job, or an emergency medical expense -- away from food insecurity.

Feeding America’s Mission 

Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. They describe their mission in this way:

“Our mission is to advance change in America by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for all in partnership with food banks, policymakers, supporters, and the communities we serve.”

Feeding America works to get nourishing food – from farmers, manufacturers, and retailers – to our neighbors while addressing the root causes of hunger. They do this through free food and grocery programs, fighting food waste, disaster response, research, and more.

And they’re leading the fight to end hunger in America. In addition to helping provide meals to people who face hunger, they work to raise awareness about the issue, advocate for policies to protect people in need, and conduct in-depth research to find solutions to hunger.

How Academy Bank is Getting Involved

Academy Bank is partnering with Feeding America to raise funds for the important cause of battling food insecurity.

For Days of Giving, which began on October 11 and will run through October 21, we are joining “Team Feed” as we work to combat hunger by donating food, money, and time. We’re challenging ourselves to raise as much money as we can for Feeding America by sharing the cause with our associates, families, and friends.

And Academy Bank will match all donations up to $4,000. Did you know that every dollar raised can provide 10 meals? If we can raise $8,000, we can provide up to 80,000 meals to families and children in need.

Ninety-eight percent of all cash donations to Feeding America go directly into programs serving the people in need, meaning that all donations will be put to good use.

Members of Team Feed can make a real difference by rallying donations to support the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization and food bank network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meals programs.

With 53 million people relying on charitable food assistance last year, Team Feed has become an important and impactful way individuals and communities across the country can help provide meals to neighbors in need and join the fight against hunger. And Feeding America is able to turn a donated dollar into more meals than if you donated food you’d purchase at the store.

Academy Bank is already hard at work raising funds for Team Feed. And our associates around the country will be volunteering to help local food banks meet the needs of those in need. We are excited to take advantage of this opportunity to help others. Feel free to join us as we fight hunger!

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