What Are You Hungry For? Poetry Project Invites Community Voices on Hunger and Hope

What do you crave from your community—food, love, family, peace?

 A new poetry project, launched by Poetry Is Life Publishing in collaboration with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, invites residents of eight Northeast Ohio counties to reflect on their experiences with hunger and food insecurity through creative writing. Whether you've faced hunger firsthand or witnessed its impact on someone close, your voice matters.

Submissions are now open for original poems, letters, and short stories that speak to the experience of hunger and the deeper human need for connection, dignity, and support. Selected works will be published in a community anthology aimed at raising awareness and dismantling the stigma surrounding food insecurity. A portion of the book’s proceeds will benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

The project is rooted in empathy, equity, and storytelling—core tenets of the Connections priority within the Akron Cultural Plan. By amplifying lived experiences through art, it fosters greater understanding across communities and encourages meaningful dialogue on issues too often overlooked.

 Submission Details:

Open to residents (or former residents) of Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, and Wayne Counties.

 All ages welcome. Submit under your name or anonymously.

 Poems may be any form or length; stories should be 500 words or less.

 Send submissions by June 30, 2025, to poetryislifepublishing@gmail.com or by mail to P.O. Box 228, Akron, OH 44309.

 Each selected contributor will receive a complimentary copy of the book. Not all submissions are guaranteed publication.

 Let your voice be heard. Share your story. Help fight hunger—with your words. Submit your entry here.