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.