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Des Moines, IA (October 16, 2012) – The Hunger Summit, organized each year by the World Food Prize to drive public attention to the causes of hunger and to increase actions and partnerships among Iowans to solve issues related to hunger, poverty, and malnutrition, featured addresses by Howard Buffett, Jo Ann Jenkins of AARP; a welcome by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and an announcement of a new “Iowa Hunger Directory.”
The Sixth Annual Hunger Summit was held on October 16, 2012, the United Nations World Food Day and in Iowa, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug World Food Prize Day as designated by the Iowa Legislature and proclaimed by Governor Terry E. Branstad at the Hunger Summit Luncheon.
The Hunger Summit is the largest gathering of hunger-fighting organizations in Iowa and has been the centerpiece of discussion and collaboration and connections among these organizations since 2007. As the connectivity has grown, feedback from participants has led to a new initiative.
At the “Hunger Luncheon,” Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President of the World Food Prize, announced an initiative to create The Iowa Hunger Directory. With more than 500 in attendance at the Summit, Ambassador Quinn said, “We want to create a comprehensive listing of Iowa organizations combating hunger at home and abroad. We know there are dynamic organizations and dedicated people who are working diligently fighting hunger throughout the state and around the world and we want to facilitate their collaboration and connectivity. Also, this will allow us to collect more accurate information on their efforts.”
The Iowa Hunger Directory will provide a year-round extension of the Hunger Summit and a vehicle for organizations and individuals to plug into the system. It will be designed to include every organization
that focuses on alleviating food insecurity, encouraging them to continue contributing to the fight against hunger as the number of people living with food insecurity continues to grow each year. As a part of this event, it was announced that between October 2011 and October 2012, over 26 million pounds of food were donated to the fight against hunger in Iowa.
This year’s Hunger Summit program featured Jo Ann Jenkins, President of AARP who addressed the issue of senior hunger in America. The “Hunger Luncheon” keynote address was delivered by Howard Buffett, president of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation who spoke on the faces of hunger.
Guests at the Hunger Luncheon were served meals used by Iowa-based organizations in food assistance and hunger-relief efforts in Iowa and abroad. The menu included:
- Fortified Rice & Bean Dinner and Fortified Macaroni & Cheese Dinner – Sponsored by Outreach Inc.
- Meatloaf, Baked Potato, Kidney Bean salad, Mandarin Oranges, Wheat Bread and Skim Milk - meal for seniors sponsored by the Iowa Department on Aging
- Pork Loin with Apple Chutney and Green Beans - Iowa Select Farms
Other Hunger Summit sessions explored Partnerships for Healthy Ecosystems organized by the Heartland Global Health Consortium; Open Data Showcase organized by the USAID; the State of Hunger Fighting Coalitions in Iowa and the State of Hunger Fighting Coalitions Across American.
The Iowa Hunger Summit is sponsored by FBL Financial Group, Inc. and Iowa Farm Bureau and is a grassroots event that brings together organizations from across the state that work on hunger-fighting projects at home and abroad.
Learn more at www.iowahungersummit.org.
ABOUT THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE: The World Food Prize was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, The World Food Prize has honored outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. Laureates have been recognized from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States. The Prize also hosts the annual Borlaug Dialogue international symposium on global food issues and a variety of youth programs that aim to inspire the next generation to work in the fields surrounding global agriculture.
Click here to see photos from the event!