September in the Kenai Peninsula Borough now has a new focus: caring for those struggling with food insecurity and working to ensure fewer people go hungry. Borough Mayor Peter Micciche’s proclamation during Tuesday night’s Borough Assembly meeting officially declared September “Hunger Action Month.”
“With deep concern for the more than 44 million Americans nationwide who face difficulty assuring where their family’s next meal will come from, including nearly 100,000 Alaskans, 30,110 of whom are children, who face food insecurity, the Kenai Peninsula borough joins with the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank to support national hunger awareness campaign to feed to the hungry,” said Mayor Micciche.
According to the proclamation, more than 22,000 individuals on the Kenai Peninsula rely on food provided by the local Food Bank every year–19% of those are children.
Kenai Peninsula Food Bank Executive Director Greg Meyer attended the assembly meeting to accept the official proclamation document. He expressed his gratitude and praised the role supporters play in the success of non-profits.
“Nonprofits are only as strong as a community, and this community has really been behind the food bank and all the efforts that we have. We greatly appreciate that,” Meyer said. ” We’ve had the pandemic, and then we have the SNAP issues, and we’ve been able to navigate all that and make sure that all our neighbors on the peninsula. And again, that only comes from all the support that we get from the community and from the leadership here. And we’re very grateful for that and thank you very much.”
Meyer is retiring from his position as executive director later this month after more than six years in the position.