Volunteer Event Takes Place on President Barack Obama’s 100th Day in Office
Washington, District of Columbia
April 29, 2009
Feeding America is pleased to announce that Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and approximately 160 Congressional spouses and children volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank today in Washington, DC. Today’s event will provide 2,000 bags of food for hungry children in the DC Metropolitan Area who participate in the “Weekend Bag Program.” Each bag contains enough food for five meals - enough food to get a child through the weekend when they do not have access to school meals. Approximately 200,000 children are at risk of hunger in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. That is one in five children. Feeding America is the nation’s largest hunger relief organization and the Capital Area Food Bank is one of Feeding America’s 206 member food banks.
Please see the attached image [ZIP file, 5 MB] from today’s event.
“The work that these organizations are doing is vital at a time when so many people are struggling financially and needing to depend on food banks and soup kitchens for their daily meals. I enjoyed working at the Capital Area Food Bank today along with 160 of our Congressional spouses. I hope we will all continue to stay involved whether it is by donating goods or volunteering our time.” – First Lady Michelle Obama.
“I can’t think of a better way to spend this day than engaging in service together to help those who need it most. I hope that our efforts today will inspire more Americans to find ways to serve in their own neighborhoods and communities.” – Dr. Jill Biden
Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America said, “We at Feeding America are so grateful to Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and all of the Congressional spouses for volunteering their time to help the 200,000 children who experience hunger in Washington, DC. The commitment of these individuals to help us bring greater awareness to the growing need of hungry Americans could not come at a more critical time as millions more people turn to us for help in these tough economic times.”
Photo caption: First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and Congressional spouses volunteer for Feeding America at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC on President Barack Obama's 100th day in office - April 29, 2009. Download Photo [ZIP file, 5 MB]
Photo credit: Kevin Allen
INFORMATION ABOUT HUNGER IN WASHINGTON, DC
• The Capital Area Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and last year provided nearly 24 million pounds of food to hungry people in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.
• In the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, there are approximately 633,000 residents are at risk of, or experiencing hunger; that is 1 in 6. (U.S. Census Bureau).
• The Capital Area Food Bank’s Weekend Bag Program serves 1000 children each week at 24 sites in the metro area.
• In 2008, calls to the Capital Area Food Bank’s Hunger Lifeline, an emergency referral system, increased 91 percent.
INFORMATION ABOUT HUNGER IN AMERICA
• 36 million Americans, including 12 million children are living on the brink of hunger.
• Feeding America is the nation’s largest hunger relief organization and through their nationwide network of 206 food banks, Feeding America provides food to more than 25 million hungry Americans each year, including 9 million children.
• Feeding America reports that requests for emergency food assistance are up 30 percent on average across the country compared to a year ago.
Interviews with Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America and Lynn Brantley, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank are available upon request.
About Feeding America
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.
About Capital Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest, public nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Each year the CAFB distributes 20 million pounds of food, including 6 million pounds of fresh produce, to over 700 partner agencies. The Capital Area Food Bank was founded on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, January 15, 1980.
In addition to food distribution, the CAFB has several community-building initiatives including Kids Cafe, Food For Kids, Face Hunger, From the Ground Up, Sister Hook-Up, Produce for People, the Brown Bag Program among others. For more information on how you can help in the D.C. Metropolitan area, please visit www.capitalareafoodbank.org
Contact(s):
Julie Cloutier
Feeding America
(212) 691-2800
Kasandra Robinson
Capital Area Food Bank
(202) 526-5344