Food Bank + Ayotte x 4 Cans of Nothing = Hope for the Hungry

Sen. Kelly Ayotte made a special trip to her hometown Hannaford Supermarket  on Monday to pick up four empty soup cans. At $5 a pop, that's a lot of nothing – exactly what the New Hampshire Food Bank has in mind, says Executive Director Melanie Gosselin.

"I feel a little like a nervous mother, hovering over these cans," said Gosselin, explaining that the Cans of Nothing campaign has been a little slow in taking off here in New Hampshire.

People didn't seem to understand that the cans are actually coin banks, said Gosselin, and that the idea is to fill them up with coins and turn them back in to the Food Bank, which provides for the needy across the state.

The "gimmick" behind the campaign is that for many people in New Hampshire – and around the country – meals are often missed for lack of resources, which equals a can of nothing.

Having high profile people behind the campaign – including Gov. Maggie Hassan, and now Ayotte – can only help.

"That's the hope," Gosselin said, explaining that one can, at $5, multiplied by the cash value of the coins inside – about $25 filled – translates into about 60 meals.

"Demand for our services is way up – way up," said Gosselin, for one thing, due to a sluggish economy But if compounded by cuts in our federal nutrition programs, things are really going to get difficult."

Federal food supply programs like SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps, may face deep cuts as the federal budget takes shape.

When asked, Ayotte said that SNAP is an important program, and that reforms to the program already happening in New Hampshire could provide a model to help save money on a national scale – money that could be returned to the program, which she called "an important safety net" for families in need.

Ayotte added that she will encourage her two kids, Kate and Jake, to save money in their "Nothing" cans to be delivered Food Bank.

"I'm also going to bring one to Washington with me and I'm gonna put it in my office so people that come to visit the office, hopefully I can encourage them to donate money too, and then give it back to the food bank," Ayotte said.

This year, the New Hampshire Food Bank will serve upwards of 143,000 residents who need help feeding themselves or their families — that’s 1 in 9 residents, which Gosselin calls "food insecure." For many, it’s a choice between medical care, paying their rent, heating their homes, and buying food, she said.

From the NH Food Bank Site:

Among those most affected by hunger are children – 40,400, or more than 14 percent of all people served by the New Hampshire Food Bank, are under age 18. Without adequate food at critical stages in their lives, children are more likely to suffer from behavioral and psychological problems, difficultly concentrating and reduced performance in school, increased aggression, increased rate of disease and hospitalization, and may not even grow to their proper height.

In the past 5 years alone the Food Bank has increased food distribution from 4.5 million pounds to nearly 8.5 million pounds in 2012. USDA data released in November of 2011 showed that 45.8 million Americans receive food aid from the Food Stamp program - almost 15 percent of the country.  That's a 31 percent jump since June of 2009.  In total, the USDA spent $6.1 billion on food stamp benefits in August 2011, up 8 percent from the year before. 

Nationally, only 67 percent of the people that are eligible to receive Food Stamps get them, which prompted the NH Food Stamp Outreach Program.

• One third of the people that could receive benefits don't.

• New Hampshire's participation rate was 62 percent.  Access to the program has improved, and currently 75 percent of those that are eligible participate in the program.

For example, a family of four with a net monthly income of $1,921 would be eligible for $668 per month in food assistance to buy breads, cereals, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products.

To purchase a can of Nothing, visit participating statewide locations at any Hannaford, Harvest Market, Jiffy Mart, Market Basket, Shaw’s, or Stop & Shop location.

To learn more about the NH Food Bank and it's many programs, click here.