THE HUNGER REPORT For District I cabinet Meeting, Penticton BC, Canada Saturday, August 19, 2023 To My Fellow Cabinet Members in District I, The beginning of a new Lion’s year gives us opportunities to fulfill our motto We Serve. Hunger among our populations continues to be with us. Fortunately, we Lions have the means to help alleviate that problem. Let’s review some info on how to plan a food drive. It’s all laid out for a club on the LCI website, called the Food Collection Initiative. A project planner is provided, in which you work with a local food bank or other organization which receives the food. Three steps are involved in carrying this out: 1. Selecting an organization to receive your food. 2. Determining the style of food collection. 3. Promoting the food collection project. This is old information that I plan to redirect to the clubs in our District I, through Zone Chairs and club officers. Please, cabinet members, let me know how I should effectively distribute the information and how you might help. Thank you! Another great thing on the LCI website, concerning hunger, are Hunger Grants. These grants help Lions support school-based feeding programs, food banks, feeding centers, and similar facilities that provide food to people when they need it most. Please encourage your clubs to check it out. Thank you! Gleaning is in full swing in our community. Our local food bank seeks gleaning help in orchards, on farms, and even in local gardens. This is a great service idea for Lions clubs. I was fortunate enough to get a food bank worker to come up and glean some of our raspberry crop, eliminating waste and feeding someone. If those summer squash are getting out of control, among other things in the veggie garden, please find a home for them. Thank you! Something on the LCI website, which I hope to address in my next report, is called the Direct Food Service. This is another project planner that can help your club directly serve meals to hungry community members. Please go on the LCI website and check it out for yourselves. Thank you! Let no one go hungry…. We Serve! Lion Dorothy Nilles, Hunger Chair for District I