The Feeding America nationwide network of food banks in all 50 states is asking each of us to take steps to bring an end to hunger. Hunger Action Month, which is observed in September, is designed to bring awareness of the fact that 48 million Americans, including 15 million children, are food insecure, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

USDA has just released new numbers on food insecurity and there has been some improvement. An estimated 12.7 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2015, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. That is down from 14.0 percent in 2014. On the other hand, the data shows that the percentage of people in Arizona reporting low or very low food security has remained unchanged since 2010 at 14.9 percent.

At our agency we know that addressing both food insecurity and the problems caused by obesity is important . This month many of our staff are participating in a social media campaign to raise awareness about how it must feel to live with an empty stomach. The social media campaign asks people to write on an empty plate, “On an empty stomach I can’t ______,” and filling in the blank with something they couldn’t achieve.

You can follow the campaign or post your photo with the hashtag #HungerActionMonth and @FeedingAmerica. You can learn more about the campaign by watching the video online.