3 of the top ways to get involved in anti-hunger work are to donate, volunteer, and advocate. This week, we’re putting a spotlight on volunteering.

Every day, Hunger Free America volunteers help people across the country who face food insecurity. Volunteers can find opportunities to serve in-person near them or can join in on virtual efforts.

You can help end hunger in America by volunteering your time and talents.

Our Strategic Volunteerism Department connects individuals and organizations across the country with high-impact volunteer work addressing the root causes of hunger. We connect people looking to get involved with a range of volunteer opportunities, from conducting data verification on the USDA Hunger Hotline information, to serving at local food banks, to helping nonprofit and charitable organizations with grant application reviews.

Register to become a Hunger Free America volunteer today, and sign up for our volunteer emails to hear first about upcoming opportunities!

Data Detectives: an Effective Way to Volunteer from Home.

Did you know it’s possible to volunteer virtually? Not only that, but virtual volunteers make crucial updates and verify essential data that helps the Hunger Free America team connect people across the country with government assistance and local food providers.

But how can a remote/virtual volunteer fight hunger?

Those who don’t have enough to eat frequently go online or call around to find food resources—but all too often, programs focused on feeding hungry people don’t have the resources, time, or tech support needed to manage those searches.

At the same time, people across the country are searching for ways they can help address our country’s growing hunger crisis. And many of those people have experience with working remotely and verifying information online.

Our Data Detectives program was born when we realized these volunteers could meet that need, with a little support and coordination from us!

Learn more about how the Data Detectives program works and how quick and easy it is to get started:

Interested in becoming a Data Detective yourself? Sign up for our Data Detectives training session tomorrow:

Join Us Tomorrow: Volunteer Virtually for Our September 11 National Day of Service

At Hunger Free America, we commemorate September 11 each year with a National Day of Service. There are many ways to help end hunger in the US, and joining this fully remote project for 90 minutes on Thursday is a great way to get started.

Join us on 9/11 as a Virtual Data Detective to help verify food pantry and SNAP/WIC listings that connect families to vital resources.

In the session, you'll receive background information, training, and support to verify and update listings of food pantries, soup kitchens, and SNAP/WIC offices around the country.

This information is used to direct callers to our Hunger Hotline to resources. You'll be given unique listings to check by calling the number and doing web-based research.

All you need is an internet connection, a computer, a phone, and a pen and paper for the task.

Hunger Free America 9/11 Day of Service – Virtual Data Detectives

Thursday, September 11, 2025

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST

No one should go hungry in America.

This Hunger Action Month, let’s commit ourselves to making sure that all of America is hunger-free.

• Donate - support us in the fight

• Volunteer - join a project in person or online

• Advocate - speak out about the U.S. hunger crisis

Make sure you get our Hunger Action Month emails and forward this email to advocates in your community so they can subscribe to Hunger Free America’s emails.

Featuring Our Work: Innovative. Effective. Fearless.

The Hunger Free America Find Food Database

The Find Food database is the most complete national resource of its kind, including 47,426 listings (including pantries, soup kitchens, WIC clinics, summer meal sites) as of June 2025. In order to accommodate as many people as possible, it is accessible online and via text.

Our team, with the assistance of Data Detectives volunteers, maintains the database and ensures it is useful and available for both the public and the USDA National Hunger Hotline operators. Hunger Free America has been operating the hotline since 2014 (on behalf of USDA until funding ended in May of 2025) and has assisted over 377,000 people through hotline calls and texts.

Donations are another essential way to make an immediate impact. Support from everyday people helps us keep crucial tools like the Find Food database running, and gives us the resources to run effective, capacity-building volunteer projects like Data Detectives.

You can help us keep doing this work to end hunger by making a secure donation through the link below.

If you’re looking for support getting food on the table, visit our site with resources for individuals and families.