FOOD
Hunger persists; what to do?

IN THE NORTHEAST
• The three Massachusetts food bank affiliates of America’s Second Harvest participated in the survey Hunger in America 2006 and have statewide data on hunger. Contact the Greater Boston Food Bank, 617-427-5200; the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, 413-247-9738; Worcester County Food Bank, 508-842-3663.
• The City of Lowell, Mass., has had a Hunger/Homeless Commission since 1992. A number of faith groups are involved. Contact co-chairperson Amy Pessia of the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, 978-454-7272.
• The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy assists people with limited resources to begin farming in Massachusetts. Its larger goal is to promote economic self-reliance and food security. Contact project director Jennifer Hashley, 617-636-3793, jennifer.hashley@tufts.edu.
• The New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future is based at the Office of Sustainability of the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Contact Elisabeth Farrell, food and society coordinator, 603-862-4088, press 3.

IN THE EAST
• Bruce C. Birch is dean of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and also the Woodrow W. and Mildred B. Miller Professor of Biblical Theology. He has written about the need to respond to hunger in the context of the biblical call for justice. Contact 202-885-8611, bbirch@wesleyseminary.edu.
• The Congressional Hunger Center offers training on hunger issues. It was founded by former U.S. Rep. Tony Hall, who fasted for 22 days to draw attention to the hunger issue. Edward M. Cooney is executive director. Contact him, 202-547-7022 ext. 14.
• Mark E. Graham wrote Sustainable Agriculture: A Christian Ethic of Gratitude. He teaches theology and religious studies at Villanova University in Villanova, Pa. Contact 610-519-4703.

IN THE SOUTHEAST
• Walter Brueggemann is professor emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. The influential biblical interpreter has written about hunger, seeing it as one manifestation of social injustice that the Bible says to correct. Contact 404-687-4556, BrueggemannW@CTSnet.edu.
• Come to the Table is a project of the Rural Life Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches that links food, faith and farms. Contact Claire Hermann, 919-542-1396 ext. 207.

IN THE SOUTH
• The Alabama Food Bank Association includes eight regional food banks that supply food to churches and other nonprofits. Alabama’s percentage of food insecure households – 13 percent – is higher than the national average of nearly 11 percent. Requests for food assistance are rising among older people, more than 25 percent of whom live below the poverty level. Contacts for the eight regional food banks are listed.
• The Mississippi Food Network in Jackson serves more than 400 churches and other agencies that provide food. Walker Satterwhite is executive director. Contact 601-353-7286.

IN THE MIDWEST
• Dana Irribarren is executive director of the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland. One Ohio food pantry ran out of food in November; others are experiencing increased demand. Contact 216-619-8155 ext. 11.
• U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, took the “Food Stamp Challenge” in May, trying to live for a week on a food budget of $21, the amount a Food Stamp recipient gets. Ryan blogged about his experience. Pat Lowry is press secretary in his Warren, Ohio, office. Contact 330-373-0074 ext. 5.
• An Ohio Hunger Summit in Cincinnati on Oct. 29 was sponsored by Hormel Foods. Ariel Miller, executive director of the Episcopal Community Services Foundation, was a speaker. Contact 513-221-0547, ecsf@eos.net.
• The Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee is getting less surplus food from the federal government than it had been, leading to food shortages at area pantries. Contact Sherrie Tussler, task force executive director, 414-777-0483, sherrie@hungertaskforce.org.
• The Rime Buddhist Center in Kansas City, Mo., does regular community service feeding the homeless. Lama Chuck Stanford is spiritual director. Contact 816-471-7073.
• The Rev. Clare Butterfield is director of Faith in Place, a creation care ministry in Chicago. It promotes sustainable farming. Contact 312-733-4640, clare@faithinplace.org.
• Jack R. Kloppenburg Jr., professor of rural sociology at the University of Wisconsin, teaches a course called Food, Culture and Society, which explores hunger issues. Contact 608-262-6867, jrkloppe@wisc.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST
• Part of the Texas Food Bank Network, End Hunger Network was founded in 1985 in response to hunger in Houston. David Davenport is executive director. Contact 713-532-3663 ext. 201.
• Statistics about hunger in Oklahoma are contained in “Hunger in America 2006: Executive Summary for the State of Oklahoma.” Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services sponsored a November 2007 conference on hunger promoting programs to faith-based groups. Faith groups operate three-quarters of the state’s food pantries and soup kitchens. Two food banks serve the state: the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. Contact the regional bank in Oklahoma City, 405-972-1111; the community bank in Tulsa, 918-585-2800.
• Tamera Zivic is executive director of the World Hunger Education, Advocacy & Training (WHEAT) Organization in Phoenix, which works with 5,300 congregations in Arizona. Arizona’s economy is weakening, food prices have gone up, and many senior citizens are affected by health care costs, factors driving up demand at the state’s association of food banks. Contact 602-955-5076, wheat@hungerhurts.org.
• Barbara Vauthier and Zy Weinberg are Burnet, Texas-based consultants with expertise in government nutrition assistance programs. They provide services to the TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) Alliance, a coalition of organizations concerned with food assistance for lower-income Americans.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST
• Food Lifeline in Seattle is Washington state’s largest hunger relief agency. It runs a number of programs and has statistics on the people it serves. Media contact is Camilla Bishop, 206-545-6600.
• San Francisco Zen Center does food distribution for the homeless. Buddhists view community service as the practice of compassion. Contact co-abbot Paul Haller, who founded and directed community outreach, 415-863-3136 ext. 392.
• Created by the state Legislature in 1989, the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force promotes awareness, compiles research and develops action proposals. Members of the faith community on the task force are Norene Goplen of the Oregon Faith Roundtable Against Hunger, Kevin Finney of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Pastor Jonathan Enz of Monroe United Methodist Church. Contact the task force through Jessica Chanay, program and communications director, 503-595-5502; contact Finney, 503-221-1054; contact Enz, 541-847-5525.
• Earth Ministry includes congregational activists in the Puget Sound, Wash., area. It is interested in creation care and eco-justice, including food issues. Contact executive director LeeAnne Beres, 206-632-2426.
• Michael Schut is the Seattle-based author of Food & Faith: Justice, Joy and Daily Bread. He worked for Earth Ministry for 11 years. Contact 206-297-5943, mwschut@gmail.com.