SOCIETY - LA declared nation's hunger capital

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[OG Snort: Well, here's an excellent opportunity for all those Hollywood activists to help their neighbors.]

LA CBS affiliate, Channel 2

L.A. Declared Nation's Hunger Capital

Officials Say City Has 'Critical Shortage' Of Emergency Food

Posted: 5:30 p.m. PDT September 7, 2001 Updated: 5:59 p.m. PDT September 7, 2001

LOS ANGELES -- The land of glitz and glamour has been declared the nation's hunger capital.

Officials and food bank directors from around Los Angeles said Thursday that there is a critical shortage of emergency food supplies and called for a collaborative effort to alleviate the problem, a local news service reported.

Among the officials who spoke to reporters at the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry was Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who said that there is "no excuse for the fact that half a million Angelinos go hungry every night."

"This is a crisis of emergency proportions, and we need to begin addressing it as such," he said.

Garcetti said that food budgets are often squeezed because most residents in hard-hit communities spend half their income on rent. He suggested that to ease the pressure on food banks, there should be an increase in the number of food markets and community gardens.

Sheriff Lee Baca also showed his support in the effort to curb hunger throughout the city, saying: "It is a public safety issue to not have food ... every American deserves to have a safety net."

According to studies done by the Los Angeles County Health Department, about 584,000 people in Los Angeles County go hungry at some point during the year. An estimated 1.4 million experience some sort of "food insecurity," which includes poor nutrition, according to the wire service.

Charitable groups and major food banks in the country are trying to jumpstart an effort they call the "L.A. and California Hunger-Free Zone Program."

Organizers have set up a Web site, lapoverty.com, and a toll free number at (877) NO-HUNGER for those who would like to contribute.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001


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