According to statistics from Second Harvest North Florida, 1 in 6 adults in North Florida don't have enough food on a regular basis and 1 in 4 children don't know when their next meal with be available.
September is Hunger Action Month, so Second Harvest brought to the Wells Fargo Center Downtown "About Hunger & Resilience," a traveling exhibition of 50 photographs by Michael Nye.
Second Harvest feeds more than 170,000 people each year in 17 North Florida counties.
Based in San Antonio, Nye was inspired to create the exhibition of photographs and accompanying audio recordings by the contributions of his local food bank.
He spent more than four years traveling to food banks, churches and other social service organizations throughout the country, meeting, photographing and listening to his subjects.
The images and recorded stories include those of survivors of Hurricane Katrina, rodeo cowboys and former middle-class people who have nearly starved.
Nye practiced law for 10 years before becoming a full-time visual artist and is the recipient of a Mid-America National Endowment for the Arts grant in photography.
"This exhibition is about the experience of hunger. The stories are not intended to summarize or explain anyone's life. There are too many ways a voice can turn. Many of the people I have met have struggled to find the right words to describe the weight of responsibility, loss, kindness and dignity," Nye said in the artist's statement for the exhibit.
Bruce Ganger, executive director of Second Harvest North Florida, said bringing the exhibit to Jacksonville is a way to raise awareness of hunger in the community.
"We wanted to give people the opportunity to see and hear in an impactful way people who experience hunger and, in most cases, homelessness," he said.
The exhibit is open to the public free of charge 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday through Sept. 26 in the lobby gallery at Wells Fargo Center.
Ganger said Second Harvest is planning its 29th annual "Empty Bowls Luncheon," presented by Bank of America, Nov. 19 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. For a donation, participants may choose a ceramic bowl crafted by a student and be served a simple meal of soup and bread.
For ticket and sponsorship information, visit wenourishhope.org.
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