The Food Bank for New York City

Food For Thought

The world is a complex place with many complex problems and many causes looking to mitigate them. Like so many others, I have often found myself wanting to make a difference but unsure of where to start. As a starting point, I asked myself two questions: what am I passionate about and what is a cause that speaks to the most basic necessity? I soon realized that the hunger crisis would be that cause for me. Like most people, I love going out to eat. Food is a fun and social part of my life, but for so many others, it’s a stressor. Food is a basic need. Without it, one can’t even begin to think about, let alone address other needs. Though I’m hopeful, I’m not sure we’ll ever get to a point where we will solve the hunger crisis but I knew that I at least wanted to play an active role in the fight against it. 

I started probono work with the Food Bank of New York City in fall 2019, assisting with two marketing projects: SNAP and Students Against Hunger. 

SNAP

SNAP brochure

For those who may not be familiar, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the largest federal nutrition assistance program for providing eligible low-income individuals with benefits that enable them to purchase eligible food in authorized retail grocery stores. When I initially was brought on as a design volunteer, I took on the task of redesigning their (physical) SNAP enrollment plan brochure in both English and Spanish. In addition to generally updating pertinent information, the focus was to better highlight key details of the program, making enrollment as easy and straightforward as possible.  

 

Students Against Hunger

Students Against Hunger brochure

My second project was conceptualizing and designing a toolkit for their initiative Students Against Hunger. The program objective is to educate students of all ages on food insecurity in NYC and how to fundraise and bring awareness to the wider community. To take the campaign to the next level, I created a toolkit to better engage students and provide concrete fundraising tips.