For instance, your local food bank may be able to feed more people with a $10 donation than they can with $10 of food you bought at the grocery store. As another example, offer to hand out food at the food bank, serve meals at the soup kitchen, or deliver food with you local Meals On Wheels program.

If you have a membership to a bulk foods store like Costco, this is a great place to pick up food for donating. You’ll get more food for your money and it tends to be the kind of easy to store items that work well for distributing to the needy. Local churches, soup kitchens, shelters, and even government organizations will take donations of food to redistribute to people who need help. Find one that matches up with who you’re looking to help.

Another common demographic of people that go hungry are the elderly. Older people living on their own often have limited money and may not be capable of cooking very much for themselves any more. If you know someone who’s very old and might struggle making themselves a good dinner, offer to bring and have dinner with them every now and again. Good examples of foods to take include: sliced soft apples (like Gala), whole bananas, a portion of a loaf of whole grain bread, pop-open containers of tuna, soy nuts (bought in bulk, these a quite cheap and they contain a massive amount of nutrients in a very small serving), and pre-cut carrots (cut as thinly as possible).

Read about the United Nations World Food Programme to learn more about the hunger situation in the world. Visit Action Against Hunger’s website to learn more about world hunger and how life-threatening hunger is treated and prevented. Check out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to see how they’re educating people about world hunger.

For example, your donations might save a malnourished child who’s about to pass away, provide relief to farmers who lost their crop due to drought or extreme weather, lend money to women to help them support their children’s health, and so much more. Read about each agency’s programs. Action Against Hunger is a charity with 40 years of experience in preventing and treating hunger. Currently, they’re helping 21 million people in 50 different countries. Using research and technical expertise, they partner with communities to create better ways of dealing with hunger. Another great charity is Heifer International, which donates farm animals to people who are coping with hunger. This allows them to produce their own food. You might also look into Charity: Water, which provides clean water to communities for drinking and cooking. Kiva is a microfinance organization through which you can make loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world, so they can grow their businesses. You can donate very small amounts and still make a difference. When you are repaid, you can lend the same money out to someone else. [2] X Research source

Buying a lot of items like this also sends a message to companies. As consumers, we can use our money as our voice. If enough people are buying these kinds of products, then more of them will be offered.

Both migrant and undocumented workers may have trouble traveling back and forth over the border, as it’s heavily guarded. This means they aren’t able to support their families back home. [3] X Research source The other problem is that strict immigration laws create a situation in which unscrupulous employers can pay undocumented workers low wages under the table, meaning that those people go hungry even though they work hard.

Even if you don’t have these skills, you can help with your money. Throw a fundraiser and donate that money to charities.