Our Impact
Share Our Strength Sets Stage for Ending Childhood Hunger
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley Join Share Our Strength to Mark President Obama's Goal of Ending Childhood Hunger by 2015
Despite a daily dose of sobering statistics on the economy and hunger and poverty in America, at Share Our Strength we feel optimistic. Why? Because, for the first time in 25 years, we see a number of forces converging that can end childhood hunger in this country: political will, increased awareness of hunger due to unprecedented need, and the initial success of our national strategy, as demonstrated in Maryland, Washington, Florida and Washington, DC.
Highlights of Dinner with USDA Secretary Vilsack and Maryland Governor O’Malley
Two recent Share Our Strength events, which brought together U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to celebrate President Obama’s commitment to end childhood hunger by 2015, demonstrate this momentum.
A fundraising dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak on Capitol Hill and the unveiling of Washington’s first “Good Food Garden” united political leaders, representatives of our State Partnerships to End Hunger, corporate sponsors, leading national chefs, and our dedicated supporters.
“The only job interview I’ve ever had was with President Obama, and he said to me ‘I know you’ll have to deal with farmers, and bio fuels and things like that, but ‘what I want you to do first, the most important thing in this job, is to make sure that America’s kids are well fed.’”
USDA Secretary Vilsack
Governor O’Malley, who has vowed to be the first governor in the country to wipe out childhood hunger in his state, provided a briefing on the six-month-old Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland, a joint effort of Share Our Strength and the Governor’s Office for Children. The Governor cited the Partnership’s progress, which includes:
- Adding 24,000 children to school breakfast program (a nearly 20% increase)
- Enrolling 17,700 more families in Food Supplement Program
- Adding 25 licensed child care facilities to the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Governor O’Malley told attendees, “Step One in the How-to Manual for ending childhood hunger is to partner with Share Our Strength.”
At the SEED Public Charter School in Southeast DC, Secretary Vilsack joined two dozen students, Share Our Strength, and the Food Network in planting a sustainable, fruit and vegetable garden. Secretary Vilsack told the students, “President Obama was very clear when he instructed me to make sure that we address childhood hunger and end it by 2015.”
The sustainable garden will provides a hands-on learning tool for 7th grade civics and life science students. The garden is the fourth Good Food Garden installed in partnership with the Food Network; six additional gardens will be built this summer across the country. These gardens give students direct access to fresh fruits and vegetables, in many cases for the fist time.
Access to food is the cornerstone of Share Our Strength’s work, and the Good Food Gardens complement Share Our Strength’s larger efforts to bridge gaps between families in need and the programs that can help.
Photos From the Good Food Gardens
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