We Can End Hunger With Social Innovation

by Greg Plotkin · 2010-03-05 14:38:00 UTC
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In the age of instantaneous communication and organizing, it's fairly easy to capture the attention (at least briefly) of a large group of people, especially when talking about hot-button issues like hunger and food security.

However, it's much more difficult to translate this interest into real action.

With this problem in mind, Scott Henderson and the crew at Causeshift launched a new online campaign called WeCanEndThis yesterday that seeks to move people away from "one-click activism" and instead encourage Americans to rethink and reshape the problem of food scarcity.

With the help of a diverse group of large nonprofit and corporate partners, WeCanEndThis will provide hungry American families with direct food assistance, but more importantly, will harness the power of social media and crowd-sourcing to address the obstacles and break down the barriers to alleviating hunger.

According to Henderson, the main goal of the campaign is to shift how people and organizations are addressing the underlying issues of hunger. "We want to change the way charities, businesses and government frame the questions," he told Change.org, "and create a wave of new solutions and innovations. More than anything else, we want to get more people to care enough to get and stay involved until we solve this solvable problem."

Currently, WeCanEndThis is holding a virtual can drive as a symbolic call to action. Beginning right now and running through March 18, visitors to the site are encouraged to donate a virtual can of food to show their support for ending hunger in America. The 10 states with the most donated cans will receive a semi-truckload of food courtesy of Tyson Foods -- enough protein for 1.5 million meals.

What's most exciting to me is the unveiling of the campaign's CauseLab at this year's South by Southwest festival on March 15. Conceived as a clearinghouse for innovative and imaginative ideas about ending hunger, the lab will showcase the best thinking on addressing the root causes of hunger. WeCanEndThis will choose the best ideas to share and implement with the campaign's nonprofit partners.

What makes this so unique is that it gives each and every one of us the opportunity be part of the solution and enter into the discussion about alleviating hunger. This is not only an opportunity to be heard, but to have your idea matter. Dig in.

Photo credit: daveiam

Greg Plotkin currently works for Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY. He is dedicated to eliminating inequalities in who has access to healthy food and alleviating hunger.

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