Last year it all started with our friend Pat. Pat had become passionate about a local seniors' center in NE Minneapolis, and made it his personal mission to help them during the March food drive. His excitement ignited a small movement - he got his neighbors together, talked to his friends, threw a food shelf donation party, and drove around collecting food from willing donors.

Too many people don't know that March is the month of the largest food drive in our state – a program called the March Campaign run by Minnesota FoodShare. The March drive restocks more than 260 food shelves all throughout Minnesota in cooperation with congregations, schools, civic groups and corporations who all run food and fund drives that contribute to the statewide campaign. Since so many food shelves are depleted after the winter, spring is an important time to make sure the shelves are full and ready to help hungry Minnesotans during the year.

Why is it so important? Because hunger affects so many of us or our neighbors, especially the elderly and all too many children. There were roughly 3 million food shelf visits across the state in 2009 where 61 million pounds of food were distributed to Minnesota families. It is staggering to read that 58 percent of those families have children at home.

So what can you do? You can start with your cupboard - and round up any cans or dry good foodstuffs that are unopened and within the expiration date. Fill up a bag and take it to your local foodshelf. (Not sure where the nearest food shelf is to you? Click here to search.) You can go shopping – and buy an extra bag of food while you're at the grocery store to drop off at a local food shelf. Or easiest yet, you can donate by giving money, which allows the food shelves to buy foods that can't be collected during a food drive, such as fresh foods, or to buy foods in bulk.

Want to go a little further? Organize your own party or a food donation drive at your work or in your neighborhood. Because of Pat last year, my husband and I hosted an open house where neighbors could drop by for a cup of coffee and a muffin when they brought by a bag of food shelf items. We had so many neighbors participate – even dropping off bags of food on our doorstep without coming in for coffee – that in three hours we gathered nearly 70 pounds of food.

Food issues affect all of us at some time - and during this season of transition as we move from winter into spring, it is a perfect time to think about our neighbors who might be hungry - whether we know them or not.

This year I'm your Pat - helping you become aware of the statewide food drive and hoping that you'll get excited enough to do a little something about it.