Exciting new book educates young readers on the importance of food rescue for hunger relief

SAN DIEGO, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Feeding San Diego, a leading hunger relief and food rescue organization and partner food bank of Feeding America, has announced the release of its new comic book "Hunger Action Heroes Unite!" The book, now available to purchase on the non-profit's website, features the adventures of Hunger Halter and Demeter, characters originally developed by local students who won an art contest held by the organization in collaboration with the Comic-Con Museum. It serves as an integral tool to educate youth about the problem of food insecurity and ultimately inspire them to act.

"Hunger Action Heroes Unite!" is an inspirational story written by Dr. Janina Scarlet, clinical psychologist and creator of "Superhero Therapy," with art by Thom Zahler ("Love & Capes" & "My Little Pony"). Aimed at young readers in elementary and middle school, the book tells the story of journalist Julie Wilson, who channels her feelings of distress into action when she is given the opportunity to transform into Demeter and help fight hunger and food waste across the country. Together with Hunger Halter, the two heroes rescue food and get it to people in need. To support learning in the classroom and at home, the nonprofit created a curriculum guide educators and parents can use alongside the comic book.

"We created the hunger action heroes to leverage the power of popular culture to address a pressing social justice issue and inspire social good," said Dana Williams, director or marketing & communications at Feeding San Diego. "With inflation, the problem of food insecurity is heightened so there is no better time than now to educate the public, especially our youth, about the urgent need to support hunger relief organizations."  

The art contest was launched to rally the community and local students around Feeding San Diego's mission to end hunger through food rescue while reducing the stigma associated with attending food distributions. The winning submissions, created by Aiden Prior and Sirenna Ascencio, were brought to life by costume designer Allan Lavigne, head of The Bronze Armory Studios, who has worked on comic book films from the "Iron Man" and "Captain America" franchises.

The book is now available to purchase for $6.99 on Feeding San Diego's merch store. Proceeds from sales of the book will support Feeding San Diego's critical hunger relief and food rescue programs. Educational resources for parents and teachers are downloadable on the website.  

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SOURCE Feeding San Diego