While your family is sitting down to a scrumptious dinner of burgers, spaghetti and caesar salad tonight, millions of people will go without enough food to fill their bellies. Read on for some interesting facts about how food banks can make a world of difference.

Food Banks - Facts to Fuel You Up

Second Harvest is one of the largest food bank organizations in America, with over 200 branches throughout the country.

Every year in the United States, Second Harvest assists more than 25 million people. Of those 25 million, nine million are children and three million are senior citizens.

Food banks are always in need of donations, not just during the holidays. Grab a hold of all those cans on your basement shelves that no one is ever going to eat and drop 'em off at your local food bank branch.

If you don't want to truck a load of food down to the food bank, you can always donate money. Did you know that one of your donated dollars can buy three to seven times the amount of food that you would be able to purchase at the grocery store? This is because food banks often have partnerships with big corporations like Kraft Foods, General Mills and Chiquita Brands International, to allow them to get more bang for their buck.

For those of you who just can't spare any food or money but still want to lend a hand, food banks are always looking for volunteers to help sort, stack and hand out food.

Did you know that over 13 million tons of food are thrown away each year in the United States? Second Harvest managed to distribute nearly 2 billion pounds of food in 2005. Think of how many more people Second Harvest could have fed with all the food thrown in landfills!

Food Banks - The Fight to End Hunger

Americans have been observing Hunger Awareness Day since 2002, when there was a huge increase of peeps who couldn't feed their families. It's a day for volunteers, churches and organizations like Second Harvest to raise awareness - and donations - to end hunger in the US. There are lots of ways you can help! You can donate dry foods and canned items to your local food bank, serve hot meals at soup kitchens or send a cash donation to a charity. This year, Hunger Awareness Day is being held on June 6, 2006, but if you'd like to help out with this important day next year, head over to www.hungerday.org for more info!

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