Hunger Action Heroes Unite! has officially been recognized as the Most Innovative Awareness Campaign of 2025 by the San Diego Business Journal and, as a result, our capes are flying a little higher today.
This award celebrates ideas that break through the noise to move communities, change minds, and drive lasting impact. For us, that impact begins with kids. Hunger Action Heroes Unite! was built on a simple truth: when students understand hunger and food waste, and feel empowered to take action, they become real-life heroes in their schools, families, and neighborhoods.
Turning Learning Into Action
What started as a comic book about two young heroes—Hunger Halter and Demeter—has grown into a movement that’s transforming classrooms and communities. Today, educators use HAHU’s standards-aligned curriculum, student workbooks, and teacher resources to bring hunger relief, food rescue, empathy, and environmental action to life through storytelling and project-based learning.
And kids aren’t just learning about change, they’re making it.
Students in our pilot schools have:
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rescued thousands of pounds of food
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organized school-wide food drives
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designed creative fundraising challenges
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volunteered alongside Feeding San Diego
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inspired parents, teachers, and peers to join the mission
From fourth-graders launching kindness campaigns to entire grade levels running their own food-rescue initiatives, students are proving that small heroes can create big impact.
A Recognition of Innovation and Collaboration
This award honors more than a campaign. It recognizes the educators, students, families, community partners, and supporters who believed in a big idea: that a comic book can spark real-world action, and that kids can lead the way in addressing some of our biggest challenges.
Every purchase of Hunger Action Heroes Unite! materials, fuels that mission, supporting hunger relief and food rescue programs, and helping expand the curriculum to more schools nationwide. It also unlocks a revenue-sharing opportunity for food banks across the country at a moment when demand for services is surging.
Why This Matters Now
Across the U.S., families are facing rising food insecurity. Helping kids understand hunger, empathy, and environmental impact has never been more vital.
By tapping into the power of storytelling, Hunger Action Heroes Unite! teaches students that:
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food is a resource worth protecting
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hunger is a solvable problem
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their actions matter
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heroes exist in every classroom
This generation cares deeply about the planet and the people on it. Hunger Action Heroes Unite! gives them a way to channel that passion into something tangible.
Thank You for Helping Us Build the Next Generation of Heroes
We’re honored by this recognition and more motivated than ever to expand the Heroverse, reach new districts, partner with more organizations, and equip young people with the tools they need to make a difference.
To the schools who piloted our program, the teachers who brought the lessons to life, and the students who stepped up as heroes: this award is yours.
Here’s to inspiring more kids, rescuing more food, and fueling a future where every student knows they have the power to help end hunger.
Heroes, assemble. The work continues.
