Wear orange to raise awareness about hunger

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- If you've noticed an orange glow around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument atop East Rock Park in New Haven lately, it's part of a campaign to raise awareness about hunger.

September is Hunger Action Month, and on Thursday, the Connecticut Food Bank encouraged people to wear the color orange to help raise awareness.

Workers at the food bank have been plenty busy, but they have less food to move around these days and that's not a good thing.

"There are some 600 agencies which look to us for food assistance," said Nancy Carrington, the President & CEO of the Connecticut Food Bank. "So when we're down like this it means that there's less for food for us to distribute."

The food bank says nearly a half million people in Connecticut, including more than 150,000 children, struggle with hunger.

"It's particularly a problem for children because they need proper nutrition to grow right," Carrington said.

If those numbers surprise you, Carrington says it's because many suffer in silence, which is why workers at the East Haven headquarters and beyond are wore orange on Thursday to bring awareness to the problem.

"So often it is people who may have a car, and they may have the house and the clothing, but they have lost their jobs, so they are all too often suffering in silence so their neighbors not know there's a problem," she said.

Even if you didn't wear orange you can still speak out against hunger all month long and all year long by donating, but not just donating money.

The food bank highlights 30 ways in 30 days during this Hunger Action Month.

"It is things like volunteering at their local soup kitchen or food pantry. Volunteering here at Connecticut Food Bank. We have opportunities to pick apples during this apple growing season," Carrington said.

So you don't need a big wallet to make a big difference.

Connecticut Food Bank supports about 600 food programs across the state.

Learn more by visiting ctfoodbank.org or hungeractionmonth.org