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Come Tuesday, color your world orange.
On that day, bright orange lights will radiate brilliantly through Dave Grohl Alley in downtown Warren and in Huntington Bank Community Alley in downtown Youngstown. No, the accent on orange is not some kind of September spoof to the spooky Halloween season.
Rather, orange will shine attention on a more serious, more ongoing and more pressing communitywide social issue: Hunger. Tuesday will be observed nationwide as Hunger Action Day, the climax of Hunger Action Month. On that day, compassionate and able Americans are urged to act to reduce the ever-increasing scope of hunger throughout our region and nation.
But why orange, you may ask. Orange blends the physical excitement of red with the welcoming warmth of yellow to create an inviting feel that enhances appetite, color specialists say.
That orange-hued day of action -- and of giving -- comes at a critical time in the Mahoning Valley, Ohio and the country.
That's because 2026 has unfolded as a destructive year for those on the front lines in the war on hunger, notably those at Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley. Critical weapons to combat food insecurity have been gashed and gutted.
For one, Congress has enacted historic funding cuts and structural changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that will chop approximately $180 billion from that critical food-stamp program. At least 5 million Americans will be removed from its rolls as a result.
In Ohio, provisions in the current biennium budget reduce aid to food-assistance programs by as much as 25%.
Those sharp reductions only grow more acute when factoring in steep inflationary pressures, with the year-over-year cost of fuel up 40%, beef up 13%, fruits and vegetables up 6%, and the list goes on and on and on. It's absolutely no wonder why food insecurity this year has surpassed its unacceptable heights during the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, according to Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief and food-rescue organization in the United States.
In the Buckeye State, a recently released study by the Ohio Association of Food Banks, concludes that a whopping 50% of households report they must skip meals some days out of sheer financial necessity, and 4 in 10 households say they must rely more often on free meals or free groceries just to get by.
That struggle hits home.
Megan Magnetti, development director for the Youngstown-based tri-county Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, told this newspaper this week, "What we are seeing is the need for people to make choices, choices like the need for food or keeping the lights on, the need for food or to pay rent, the need for food or medicine."
In the Mahoning Valley alone, approximately 90,000 people -- or 1 in 6 -- struggle daily with hunger and food insecurity -- not knowing when and where they'll find their next meal.
That number, according to the Valley's major food bank, includes 1 in 4 children across Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. Those rates are noticeably higher than national averages of 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children routinely experiencing hunger, according to Feeding America, a consortium of food banks across the nation.
The local food bank distributed over 9.7 million pounds of food in 2025, including more than 2.6 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. Second Harvest's 160 partner agencies and programs provided food to over 20,000 people each week, Magnetti said.
Hunger Action Month therefore provides a fine time for all of us to recommit to making a concrete impact toward lessening the scope of hunger in our own backyards.
There are many ways to do so. Caring residents can organize a food drive, make a monetary donation to the SHFBMV (go to mahoningvalleysecondharvest.org to do so) or volunteer their time and effort at the organization's sprawling warehouse and distribution site on Salt Springs Road in Youngstown or at any of the many food pantries in schools, churches and other local sites.
For those who prefer an advocacy role, Feeding America is urging its supporters to wear orange Tuesday, national Hunger Action Day.
Monetary giving this month brings with it an added bonus as generous Northeast Ohio Ford dealers have pledged to double every donation made under a collective total of $300,000.
But whether it's advocating, volunteering or donating, the ways in which members of our community can participate this month -- and every month -- are myriad. The life-changing good works of Feeding America and Second Harvest make a compelling case for Valley residents from all walks of life to commit to at least one concrete action this September to ease the pangs and plight of hunger among us.