As the holiday season fades into the proverbial background, we want to remind the region — as we do frequently — that the reasons for giving during the holiday season still remain as important now as they did a month or so ago.

Especially when it comes to food banks, the need for help from the public is as acute as ever.

American society is a fast-moving one and we, as a culture, don’t tend to spend a lot of time reflecting on the last few weeks or months. The horizon beckons always for us because that is where the attainable goals for the future hover.

Yet some issues — such as hunger — don’t operate on a timeline.

In Oregon, 1 in 10 people face food insecurity while 1 in 8 children face hunger. We focus on issues such as hunger during the holidays when the spirit of giving reigns supreme. As Christmas approaches, donations — of food or clothes — are often plentiful.

Yet when the holidays fall away the problem of hunger in our state appears to fade from the collective memory. The sense there is a crisis among many of our friends and neighbors dissipates.

It shouldn’t.

Ending hunger in our state should not be a lofty goal that is given minimal lip service and then forgotten. That’s because we are a state — and a nation — with a strong will to overcome challenges and the courage to see problems through until they are solved.

The fact is hunger in our state isn’t going to be solved by a single swipe of the pen or by a new law. Our challenge — as with so many problems — is to find a way to unite and then to address hunger in a systematic manner.

We are lucky as a state to have an organization such as the Oregon Food Bank that supports food centers and pantries but we, as individuals, can do more. That means thinking seriously about volunteering to help a local food bank or pantry or donating foodstuffs or money to help overcome hunger.

We write editorials about hunger specifically so the subject doesn’t fade away until the following December. The holidays are a great time to think about helping others but we should be pondering how to help stomp out hunger in our state every month, not just in December.