Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank "Meet Jack"

The Harvest for Hunger campaign is your Akron-Canton Regional FoodBank's largest fundraising initiative. It helps support food distribution all year long. We collaborate with the Greater Cleveland FoodBank, Second Harvest FoodBank of the Mahoning Valley and Second Harvest FoodBank of North Central Ohio. Collectively this joint effort focuses on fighting hunger across 21 counties.

Support from the community is imperative to the success of this campaign. We need your help to ensure that individuals and families have a place to turn during their time of need. Our foodbank's campaign goal is to provide 5.3 million meals for our local community. We'd like to thank the Community Partners who have already joined us this year. Our grocery store partners. Our Media Partners and our Retail Partners. We hope you'll find a way to get involved in the campaign that works best for you.

Financial contributions make the biggest impact. Every dollar donated helps provide four meals. That means a 100 donation can help provide 400 meals.

One of the easiest ways to contribute to the campaign is to shop a participating supermarkets. Ask the cashier to scan a ten, five or one dollar donation coupon as you "check out hunger" beginning on March 10th.

Another way to get involved is to offer employees the opportunity to automatically deduct donations from their paycheck. A few dollars from each pay can go a long way.

You can also collect donations from friends and family by creating an online fundraising page on the foodbank's website. Share the link via email and on your social media site.

Coordinating a food and funds drive is a great way to involve your friends, family, school and social organizations. It's an easy and fun way to rally involvement with activities like chili cook-offs, bake sales, pancake breakfast and jeans days. Get creative and make it your own. Your participation is the key to this campaign's success. Pick up a coordinator kit with all the materials you need to begin.

Another way to get involved is to volunteer. Embark on an unforgettable team building experience or come on your own. All are welcome. The help volunteers provide is essential to the food bank's hunger relief effort.

New this year is the Harvest for Hunger week of giving April 1st through 7th. All four food banks will offer similar activities to encourage the community's involvement across Northeast Ohio. Open houses, food trucks, celebrity baggers at your local supermarket and more. It's sure to be a great week.

Your support can be the difference between hunger and hope for the children, families and seniors who struggle with hunger. Let's eliminate the tough choices they must make. No one should have to choose between providing a nourishing meal for their family and paying for utilities, rent or medical expenses. Together let's create a thriving community, free of hunger. 

To learn more about the Harvest for Hunger campaign, visit akroncantonfoodbank.com/hfh.