What I’ve Learned In Revolution Hunger

By Sophie Solomon

I started working with Revolution Hunger this past February after hearing about it from a friend of mine. I hadn’t heard too much about the organization and really had no idea what to expect. But my experience with Revolution Hunger thus far has been a huge source of growth for me, as an individual. Being a Youth Outreach Worker with Revolution Hunger has also been a huge learning experience.

Sophie and Lia volunteering at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco
First and foremost, from my time with Revolution Hunger, I have learned about the various ways individuals, and more specifically teens, can fight hunger. While the issue of hunger seems like a large task to tackle, and it is, there are a variety of different things we as individuals can do to help combat hunger. In San Francisco alone, there are numerous organizations that provide volunteer opportunities in the realm of hunger fighting. One of these organizations is the Glide Memorial Church. As a final project with Revolution Hunger, Megan, the SF regional coordinator, Lia, a fellow youth outreach intern, and I volunteered at Glide Memorial Church. Glide Memorial serves breakfast  and gives out lunches to hundreds of people in need of food daily. As part of our volunteer session Megan, Lia and I served breakfast to the people at Glide. It was amazing to see how much of an impact Glide makes within just one breakfast shift. For just two hours of your time you can help to make a small difference in the people eating at Glides’ lives. Other volunteer opportunities in San Francisco include working at the SF Food Bank (website) and helping to give out food at St. Anthony’s Church.

Hunger is a real issue, and it isn’t going away. But by getting involved with organizations like the SF Food Bank and Glide Memorial, and completing some of the activities on www.revolutionhunger.org we can do something to educate ourselves about this issue deal with the problem. Working with Revolution Hunger has shown me just a small portion of the ways hunger affects people around the world daily and I hope that by working with this organization that I have in turn done the same for some other people too.

Revolution Hunger has provided me with a ton of knowledge and resources to start my hunger fighter journey. I hope that in years to come as I go off to college and beyond I can take the knowledge that I gained from my experience and raise awareness about hunger and help to fight hunger.

Fighting Hunger Through New Media

We asked Revolution Hunger’s Jessie Chen to reflect about the greatest hits of her months as a New Media Producer with Revolution Hunger. Here’s what she had to say:

Fighting Hunger with Memes

My favorite blog posts that I have done have been images. I have noticed that they receive much more recognition from viewers, while at the same time they are very quick to make. Also, in particular, I really enjoy my Gandhi posts.


Videos Against Hunger
My second favorite blog posts are the videos I have created for RevHunger. I feel like the videos I make are short and simple, and also entertaining to watch. Here are some of my favorite videos:
A snippet of a day with the Revolution Hunger team meeting in San Francisco

A video I made of a few classmates and their thoughts on hunger:

Writing to End Hunger
Last fall I created a post titled High School Hunger Polls which included some surprising facts and data I collected from kids at my school.


Jessie Chen is the San Francisco New Media Producer for the Revolution Hunger Campaign. Jessie prides herself in working with great organizations such as buildOn, Youth Steering Committee, and the ACLU.

Hunger Fighter Interview: Megan Emme

New Media Producer Jessie Chen interviewed Revolution Hunger’s own Megan Emme about here incredible work fighting hunger. Check it out—this is what RevHunger is all about!

good: Should Fighting Hunger Be a Franchise Business? The idea of a business franchise is more likely to conjure an image of a Happy Meal than a famine food ration, but what if the same system that makes McDonald’s globally omnipresent could do the same for food aid or poverty-fighting?  Find out more about this innovative idea at GOOD.is
View Separately

good:

Should Fighting Hunger Be a Franchise Business?

The idea of a business franchise is more likely to conjure an image of a Happy Meal than a famine food ration, but what if the same system that makes McDonald’s globally omnipresent could do the same for food aid or poverty-fighting? 

Find out more about this innovative idea at GOOD.is

flyergirl:

My friend Avery and I have been working on a project for our World Studies class. This is a video about the food crisis in West Sahel, Africa. If you have a few minutes, please watch it. 

Really interesting video about the food crisis in Sahel. Get involved in ending hunger now at RevolutionHunger.org!

Fighting Hunger at the Crop Walk in San Francisco

gionnionthespot:

What is hunger to you? I will tell you, hunger is not only in third world countries — Africa, as some may say. Hunger Hits Home, right there in your community. People have to decide which bill they are not paying in order for them to buy food. But, you can make a difference by spreading the word, donating money, volunteering at a local food bank, raising funds to support those struggling in your community! Become an official ‘Hunger Fighter’ with the Revolution Hunger campaign! We are a group of teens tackling hunger in our communities which is making a global impact — we aspire to decrease the amount of hungry folks! 

Serving More Than Food

By Lia Musumeci, member of the Revolution Hunger Outreach Team in San Francisco

In San Francisco one in five adults lacks the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. In the Tenderloin neighborhood, the location of  St. Anthony’s soup kitchen, that number is as high as one in two.  I learned this fact, among others, on my first day volunteering as a lunch time meal server.  I was surprised to learn that St. Anthony’s community meal program  serves almost a million meals a year but more surprised to learn the composition of the community that lines up for these warm, nutritious meals. The line that filed past me on that first day included not only the homeless, but seniors and veterans who were unable to find the funds to feed themselves after paying the skyrocketing costs of health care and rent in the bay area. Another eye opener for me was the number of families that gathered in the cafeteria. In conversation with one of these family groups, I discovered that, even though they were working multiple jobs,  they found it impossible to stretch their dollars far enough to feed their children.

However, St. Anthony’s serves more than food.  It is a community gathering spot. While partaking of the meal, members of the community gather in small groups to socialize and exchange  information. While the warm food provides the necessary nutrition for survival, the community provides the equally important emotional support.  In addition to socializing, the gathering is an important source of networking. Vital information such as job openings, housing options and the availability of other community support programs ranging from health care to educational opportunities is generously shared.  Smiles were contagious as the members enjoyed each other in this nonjudgmental and mutually respectful atmosphere.  

At the end of the meal, while gathering the trays, I was greeted by many signs of appreciation. A simple thank you, a smile, a pat on the back, were unexpected and heartwarming. I felt privileged to be a part of the St. Anthony community that day and experience first hand some of  the faces of hunger in San Francisco.

A few images from RevHunger rocking the Global Youth Service Day in Washington, DC! Check out more on our Facebook page.

Check out our contest on Twitter. Win a free Revolution Hunger shirt!

Fighting Hunger at the Multifaith CROP Hunger Walk

Here is a great video about the issues of malaria and hunger from our friends at CROP Walk:

And here is a video they did about the upcoming CROP Walk in San Francisco!