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According to the USDA, more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, in the United States are food insecure. 

Hunger can affect people from all walks of life. Millions of people in America are just one job loss, missed paycheck, or medical emergency away from hunger. But hunger doesn't affect everyone equally - some groups like children, seniors, black, Indigenous, and other people of color face hunger at much higher rates. Hunger also most often affects our neighbors who live in poverty.

Hunger is a significant problem in the United States, where millions of people struggle to access enough nutritious food to meet their basic needs. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 11% of households in the United States experienced food insecurity, or limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, in 2020. This can lead to malnutrition and a range of negative health outcomes, including an increased risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Food insecurity disproportionately affects low-income families, children, elderly people, and communities of color. Many people who struggle with hunger in the United States rely on government assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to help them afford enough food. However, these programs are often insufficient to meet the needs of those experiencing food insecurity, and many people still struggle to put enough food on the table.

Many organizations and initiatives are working to address hunger in the United States, including food banks, soup kitchens, and community gardens. However, hunger is a complex and ongoing challenge and we need your help!

Big Hug is on a mission, not just to change lives, but to save lives. According to the US Census Bureau, as of January 2020, there were 580,466 people experiencing homelessness in the USA. Many of these homeless individuals do not seek out help due to social stigma, mental health issues, lack of transportation, or the fact that there is little support available to them. Shelters fill up quickly, and when food donations are gone, they are gone.

When homeless people are forced to live outside, obtaining vital necessities, such as food, can become an overwhelming challenge, which often can mean the difference when it comes to survival. Many areas do not provide adequate programs to feed the homeless and hungry or homeless persons may not be able to travel to receive food benefits due to illness or lack of transportation. 

The lack of available food and nutrition results in the homeless population suffering from numerous medical problems, including dental problems, gastrointestinal complications, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, many acute and chronic infectious diseases, diabetes, anemia, and malnutrition.

Many people are concerned that their charity donations may be reduced by tax, hidden costs, or the salaries of charity workers employed. In many cases, charities offer broad services and donors are unaware of where their charitable donations are being spent. Big Hug is comprised of local volunteers, who have been donating their time and resources for years to feed the homeless and those in need. What you donate goes straight to the mouths of those who are cold and hungry; people with no idea where their next meal is coming from, or if one is coming at all.

Big Hug has a singular focus, and a simple mission: to feed those who are hungry or cannot feed themselves. For almost a decade, the founders of Big Hug have come together from a local church congregation, and unofficially donated time and resources; by rounding up volunteers, cooking in their own kitchens, and distributing food amongst the local homeless population. In 2021, however, it became obvious that many who needed food were still not receiving it, and the first discussions around formalizing a charity and expanding these efforts began. 

Today, Big Hug is a registered charitable organization with specific goals, a desire to grow, and to make a difference to as many people who may be hungry and in need, as possible.

One of the biggest problems experienced by volunteers, over the recent years of charitable giving, has been making the vast quantities of nutritious and tasty food required, and then transporting it from their kitchens to the folks that are in desperate need; only so many batches of food could be placed in volunteer cars and transported back and forth. In 2022, Big Hug plans to purchase and operate a mobile kitchen, where food can be prepared while on the road and distributed to the homeless and hungry. 

We hope this will be the beginning of an effort to grow and expand to add greater capacity, reach more of those in need, and feed more growling, empty stomachs.