There's No Better Time Than Thanksgiving to Help Someone Who's Hungry

Thanksgiving is a time for celebration with our families and communities—but for the millions of Americans who are living with hunger, it can be an intensely difficult reminder of their daily challenges. We may be as divided as ever, but we can agree that no one deserves to be hungry. And there’s no better time than the holidays for us to commit to working together to end the food-insecurity epidemic.

Many intelligent, well-meaning people have succumbed to the idea that “you’re either with us or against us.” It has become possible to forget how much we have in common. But no ideology has a monopoly on values. This year, when our politics have served to divide us intensely, we must find a way to unite with a common purpose: to care for one another.

In October 2018, I had the great privilege to join a network of hundreds of food banks and tens of thousands of food pantries and meal programs as the CEO of Feeding America. Over nearly five years, I’ve met thousands of people: staff, volunteers, and people facing hunger, each with a powerful story. Not a single person asked about my political affiliations.

Hunger transcends party lines. With 47 million people facing hunger in the U.S., it exists in plain sight in every community, whether we choose to see it or not. While food insecurity has become increasingly common, the experiences of those living with it are deeply personal. Seniors are navigating budgets that simply cannot cover their basic needs. Parents are insisting they aren’t hungry at night as they fill their children’s plates with the last of the week’s groceries. Recent veterans feel isolated and misunderstood as they work to reassimilate.

Along with people facing hunger, and often among them, I have also met thousands of people and heard from tens of thousands more who want to help. One of them is Najma, a mother of six. Her husband works full time, and the family does not qualify for benefits, so they sometimes visit food pantries to ensure they have the food they need. Like so many in her position, Najma always finds ways to give back to her community through volunteering, organizing, and advocating.

You see, I haven’t met anyone who has nothing to give. The people in this country are remarkably generous and caring. I love the stories of grand-mothers who fed their neighborhoods and teachers who always seemed to have extra sandwiches in their lunch boxes. Their impact is life–changing. When we unite our efforts, and we choose to -prioritize ending hunger, we can—and we will—succeed. I can imagine that day. Can you?

If you’ve ever witnessed communities in action after a natural disaster, you understand the power I’m describing. The response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene demonstrated the immediate, widespread efforts to ensure people had what they needed in the aftermath of devastating storms. As a native of Louisiana, I am no stranger to storms. Several years ago, I was visiting Houma, La., in the wake of one, driving in silent solemnity through the devastation. I arrived at a fire station where local relief efforts were coordinated and joined a team of folks preparing and serving jambalaya, a hearty dish that was uniquely comforting to my fellow Louisianans. So many of the people who were gathered had lost so much, yet laughter, hugs, and a feeling of optimism permeated the crowd. It felt hopeful despite the circumstances, because we were all there together. Whatever differences might have existed among us, they were swiftly set aside for one, much higher purpose: to love our neighbors as we love our own.

The Golden Rule is alive and well, a universal value lived out, however imperfectly, by people at home and at work, in places of worship and in schools, at hospitals and civic centers. I have seen it time and again with my own eyes, and it is beautiful.

How can we unleash our love for our neighbors and start treating hunger like the national disaster that it is? Of the 47 million people who are affected, nearly 14 million are children. We must show them the way forward, together, in a shared conviction that every person deserves nutritious food, that every person deserves love.

What if we each left an open seat at our table for a neighbor this Thanksgiving? Let it serve as a reminder that we need not agree on everything to share a meal, that we need not set aside our own beliefs to care for those who do not share them, and that we need not wait for the aftermath of a storm to show up for our community. We can show up today. And tomorrow. And the day after that. Hunger is all around us, but so is love. That second part—the love part—that’s what I am grateful for this year.

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is the CEO of Feeding America.

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