Release No. 0414.99

Andy Solomon (202) 720-4623
andy.solomon@usda.gov

Jim Borland (202) 690-0469
jim.borland@usda.gov

GLICKMAN RELEASES STATE-BY-STATE FOOD INSECURITY RANKINGS,
ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT NEW STEPS TO FIGHT HUNGER

CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 1999 Despite the strong economy, hunger continues to be a widespread problem in the United States, according to Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who today released new state-by-state hunger data and rankings. Glickman, addressing the first-ever National Summit on Community Food Security, also announced a number of significant new anti-hunger efforts by government, non-profits, and the business community. 

"During this, the most prosperous economy in decades, it should shock most Americans to learn that hunger persists and it is in every state," said Glickman. "The problem of hunger amid America's plenty cannot and will not be ignored. Today, government, business leaders, and the nonprofit community have joined together in an unprecedented national movement with one critical goal in mind -- dramatically reducing the number of American children who go to bed hungry at night." 

According to the new data Glickman released, 4.6 to 15.1 percent of households in every state and the District of Columbia are either hungry or threatened by hunger. New Mexico, Mississippi, and Texas have the highest rates of food insecurity; North Dakota, Massachusetts, and South Dakota have the lowest rates.

At the Summit, dozens of national, regional, state, and local private and non-profit groups announced specific commitments to fighting hunger and promoting food security in their communities. Summit attendees represented hundreds of groups across the nation making similar commitments. Here are just a few examples of the commitments announced today:

Government: Glickman announced nearly $5 million in USDA grants for community food projects and food assistance and nutrition research.  Also, USDA committed to launching a Millennium Gardens campaign to dramatically increase the number of community gardens in the country to feed the hungry.

Businesses: Hewlett-Packard, in partnership with Second Harvest, will install and operate a new web-based system, Resourcelink, to efficiently link growers, manufacturers, processors and distributors with the Second Harvest's 188 food banks and 26 million customers and provide no-cost or low-cost transportation. Phillip Morris Companies, Inc. will donate $100 million over the next four years to help fight hunger and to support a wide range of anti-hunger activities including food-rescue programs, gleaning, food distribution, soup kitchens, and food pantries.  The Albertsons-Jewel-Osco supermarket chain will donate 600,000 pounds of food to anti-hunger organizations in six cities leading up to the Summit. This donation will bring their national total for the year to
20 million pounds. 

Non-profits: The Fienstein Foundation will provide $1 million in matching funds for anti-hunger and community food security efforts. Rhode Island Philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein, for the third straight year, will match all donations over $25--up to a total of $1 million-- made during the month of March 2000 to any nonprofit agency across the country fighting hunger and bolstering food security. The America the Beautiful Fund will supply individuals and organizations interested in establishing community gardens with free seeds and technical assistance in coordination with USDA's Millennium Gardens campaign."

Communities: The Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, Wisc. will improve community food security in the city through development of a new public market, a kitchen incubator project and a small business program; and expanding WIC and food stamp outreach. The City of Boston will distribute $115,000 in summer food grants to 91 food pantries and provide support for the Long Island Shelter farm whose produce is used in the Shelter's kitchen and sold at two local farmers markets.

The Summit and the anti-hunger commitments announced today are part of USDA's Community Food Security Initiative, a national effort to forge innovative partnerships with non-profit groups, private businesses, and individual citizens, as well as with state, local, and tribal governments, to help solve the problems of food insecurity and hunger.

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Note to Editors: Measuring Food Security in the United States: Prevalence of Food Insecurity and Hunger, by State, 1996-1998, (FANRR-2) is available on the ERS Website at http://www.ers.usda.gov . For a printed copy, call: 1-202-694-5139.

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