Hello CK UVMers!

Check out the information below about hunger expert Joel Berg's visit to UVM
next week!

In addition to the events below, CK UVM is sponsoring a small round table
discussion with Mr. Berg about hunger, food security, and how we can all
contribute to affecting change in these issues.

*When: *Sunday, April 25th at 7:30pm
*Where:* Waterman Memorial Lounge 338

There are 5 spots at the round table open for CK members. If you're
interested in attending, please email Liz at [log in to unmask] by April 22nd!


*National Expert to Visit Burlington to Discuss How Health Reform and
Obama’s Pledge Could End Soaring Hunger in Vermont and the U.S.
*
*Who: * Joel Berg, leading national expert on U.S. hunger and poverty,
author of All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? and Executive Director,
NYC Coalition Against Hunger

*What:*  Berg will talk about his book, which provides the Obama
Administration with a new, unique, and common-sense plan to achieve the
President’s pledge to end U.S. child hunger by 2015, as a down payment on
ending all domestic hunger.  He will also discuss how health care reform and
other governmental policy proposals, such as the Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Act, could help Vermont’s hungry families move from soup
kitchens to self-sufficiency.

Berg will be available both for in-studio interviews April 24-27 and at the
following three Burlington events:

*EVENT 1:* MON., APRIL 26, 2:00 pm (open to press only; there will also be
other speakers)


Where:  Community Kitchen Graduation, Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 228
N. Winooski Ave, Burlington

*EVENT 2:* MON., APRIL 26, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm (open to public and press;
free; VT Foodbank also to speak)


Where:  University of Vermont Bookstore reading, Dudley Davis Student
Center, 590 Main St., Burlington

*EVENT 3:* TUE., APRIL 27, 11:45 am (open to public and press; fee; other
speakers, panels at various times)

Where:  VT Foodbank Hunger Conference keynote, Sheraton Burlington Hotel,
870 Williston Rd., Burlington


*Hunger in Vermont:*  According to USDA, from 2006-08, more than 12.1% of VT
residents lived in homes that couldn’t afford enough food – and that was
before the recent economic crisis.  This represents a massive 42% increase
since the 1996-98 reporting period.  High food prices and skyrocketing
unemployment have made things worse, as millions more Americans have been
forced to join the lines at soup kitchens and food pantries across the
country. In fact, in 2007, 29% of families eligible for benefits from the
food stamp program (now called 3SquaresVT in Vermont) failed to receive
benefits, including 33% of working families. And, in the 2008-09 school
year, only 40% of VT children receiving free or reduced priced lunches
received school breakfasts, according to the Food Research and Action
Center.

*About the book:*  All You Can Eathas provoked a national conversation about
the causes and extent of hunger – which threatens more than 49 million
Americans and almost 17 million children – as well as concrete solutions to
end it.  Writing about this serious problem with humor and passion, Berg
argues U.S. hunger can be eradicated in just a few years – and for a small
fraction of the amount spent on the Wall Street bailouts.  According to the
Philadelphia Inquirer: “Berg makes it clear that he wants one thing: to end
hunger in America. Really.” New York’s City Limits Weekly said: "Berg’s
trademark good-natured snarkiness makes this an eminently readable book that
lays out the dimensions of the growing hunger epidemic, and what can be done
about it."  Krys Boyd, host of public affairs show “Think” on KERA, a Dallas
NPR affiliate, exclaimed:  “In all honesty, I could not put this book down
after I started it.”  And Greg Sims, a field organizer for Bread for the
World declared: “Seeing Joel Berg speak in person is like watching the
History Channel, C-SPAN, and Comedy Central all at once.”

Also visit http://joelberg.net for more information.