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We Scare Hunger

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Why local hunger?

Millions of people around the world, and some in our own communities, go hungry every day—many of them are children. In Canada, food bank use has gone up 20% in the last ten years.

We Scare Hunger, formerly Halloween for Hunger, is Free The Children’s annual campaign to mobilize youth around local hunger issues. Free The Children board member Dr. Jonathan White, professor of sociology and political economy at Bridgewater State University, founded this campaign in 1988 with a group of friends who were looking to make a difference in their community. He has since helped to introduce the campaign to countless youth groups and university students. In 2000, Professor White brought the Halloween for Hunger campaign to Free The Children.

Every October 31st, thousands of young people take action to scare local hunger and poverty. By trick-or-treating for non-perishable food items instead of just candy, or collecting canned goods at school and in their community, they help support their local food bank and raise awareness about this very important issue. They not only make a tangible contribution to their communities, but also become knowledgeable advocates for change.

In 2011 alone, over 290,000 people participated in the We Scare Hunger campaign. They donated a total of 833,648 pounds of food— enough to feed 164 families of four for a whole year!

The Facts

Millions of people around the world go hungry every day—many of them are children.

In the United States:

In 2010, 46.9 million people (15.1%) lived in poverty in the United States.
One in eight Americans now rely on food banks. Nearly 14 million are children, over three million of which are under five years old.
More than one in three food bank-assisted households report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.

In Canada:

Food bank use has gone up 20% in the last ten years.
In March 2011, 851,014 Canadians sought help from a food bank—the second highest level of food bank use on record.

In the United Kingdom:

13 million people in the United Kingdom live below the poverty line.
In 2011, Trussell Trust food banks fed over 60,000 people experiencing food poverty.

What you can do

Support local food banks and take action. Scare local hunger by trick-or-treating for non-perishable food items instead of just candy. Collect canned goods at school, work and in the community, then drop them off at your local food bank to help hunger disappear.

Be a hero and sign up. Why? Because you can.

Sign up now!

Downloads & Resources

Below you’ll find all of the resources you need for a successful We Scare Hunger campaign, including a how-to guide, images for use on social media, educational resources and more!

Download Social Media Images