As I was writing about the needs of a local food bank yesterday, news about the crisis in the food banks in New York City hit the Interwebs. Amanda Marcotte wrote about it on Slate. Bryce Covert wrote about it at Think Progress. The Daily Kos covered the story.

What can YOU do?

1. Call your local representatives and tell them that you support additional funding for food programs.

2. Send your local food pantry a check. Food drives are nice, but most of the food pantries would prefer cash. They can order items directly from suppliers, which means a lot less leg work for the workers. Driving around town picking up bags of cans is very time consuming. Food drives also don’t provide the sheer quantity of food than these food pantries require.

3. Volunteer your services. These food banks need help unloading trucks. If you’re around during the day, they will happily accept another set of hands. They also need other services. They can use legal help at times. They need help applying for grants. They need computer assistance (many volunteers are over 65 and aren’t digital natives). They need help with publicity.

4. Find out if your company provides matching funds or donates services.

People in your neighborhood are hungry. Let’s do something about it.