Dish It Up kicks-off September 11

Pioneers across North America will kick off Pioneers Dish It Up on Sunday, September 11, the U.S. National Day of Service and Remembrance. Numerous volunteer efforts focused on addressing hunger will run through September 25th.

During this time, Pioneers volunteers will be collecting healthy, nutritious, non-perishable food donations, as well as transporting food to food banks, filling backpacks with healthy snacks or easy to prepare “weekend” food for children and serving food at local shelters or soup kitchens.

“The United States has 49 million people who do not have access to enough food, and in Canada over 800,000 individuals access food banks on a monthly basis,” said Carey Wirtzfeld, president of Pioneers. “We’ve been engaged in amazing volunteer efforts for 100 years and this year, as a tribute to our Centennial, we decided to address the issue of hunger in the US and Canada.”

With the support of partners such as Liberty Mutual and Feeding America, as well as local retailers, Pioneers have a goal of providing one million healthy meals to individuals across North America through a variety of community service activities. Volunteer efforts will occur in hundreds of cities across 45 states and provinces.

“The hunger issue isn’t going away,” said Doug Montgomery, Feeding America. “In 2010, food pantries and soup kitchens served more than 37 million Americans – this is an increase of 46% from 2006. Events like Pioneers Dish It Up are meeting a tremendous need, by not only focusing on filling food banks, but by raising awareness about the importance of bringing healthy food into our communities.”

Every Pioneers member is encouraged to participate by visiting us online for a list of food collection and drop-off sites in their community.

Examples of healthy food that Pioneers are collecting include:

    Whole wheat pastas
    Brown rice
    Canned fruit (packed in own juice)
    Canned vegetables
    Canned meats (tuna, salmon, ham, chicken or turkey)
    Canned or dry beans (such as black, kidney, pinto, navy, garbanzo)
    Peanut butter (plastic jars, please)

Pioneers can also participate by making a financial contribution through our secure online donation form. Each dollar donated can provide eight meals for people in need.

Together, we can make a difference in the fight against hunger!