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American Morning

Share Our Strength Founder Discusses How People, Companies Can Stop Hunger in America

Aired June 26, 2001 - 10:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A new survey shows that demand for emergency food bank supplies is strongest in the summer months. That's also a time when children are out of school without access to school breakfast and lunch programs.

Bill Shore leads an organization working to end hunger and poverty. He's the founder of Share Our Strength, and he joins us now, from Washington.

Hi, Bill.

BILL SHORE, SHARE OUR STRENGTH: Hi, how are you?

PHILLIPS: I was reading your survey, and you were surprised that there was such a drop-off in the summertime. Why is that? In the contributions?

SHORE: We really were. Share Our Strength and Tyson Foods did this survey, because we believe that the more we understand about hunger, the better chance of ending it, since we've got the resources to do that in this country. What be found is that while most people are most concerned about hunger and homelessness and those kind of issues during the winter holidays, there's actually the biggest drop- off during the summer. I think there's some complacency. People go on vacations. We've also got 27 million schoolchildren who in the summer don't have access to school lunch and school breakfast programs, which are so vital to their nutrition during school year.

PHILLIPS: So what happens to these kid? How do they get food?

SHORE: It's a great question. There is a summer feeding program that exists, but it really struggles in communities across the country. It's got some support from the federal government, but it does not have enough local sponsorship. Many families have to turn to food banks, and of course, what we're finding is that the food banks are stretched and that they are getting products like produce and vegetables, but the products that they most desire, which are high- protein chicken, poultry, meat, and other products, they get the least of.

So we're got kids in this country, in a time of still unprecedented prosperity, who are not getting the nutrition that they need. PHILLIPS: Bill, do you think Americans think of a hunger problem more overseas than in the United States? If you see all the commercials that run late at night, it's usually hunger overseas.

SHORE: I think that's very true. The irony is that although overseas people are hungry because of war, famine or drought, we don't have those issues here. Overseas -- and I've been to Ethiopia recently, where there's tremendous hunger -- they've got a huge will to end their problem, but they don't have the resources. Here in America, we've got the resources, but we don't have the will, because we're obviously not a country that is strapped for natural resources or food resources.

There is a tremendous network of emergency feeding programs around the United States, built by Share Our Strength, Second Harvest, and other organizations and supported by companies like Tyson and American Express. That network is getting food to just about everybody that needs it, but it's not always the right food, it's not always the most new nutritious food, and we've still got a lot of work left to do there.

PHILLIPS: How do people find out about these emergency food centers, and how can Americans get involved and start making up for this loss?

SHORE: I think that's a great question, and it's the special thing about the fight against hunger, because there is a role for everybody to play. Everybody has the strength to share. Literally every community in the country has a food bank, a community kitchen, a church basement, or a pantry that is serving food. They can certainly get in touch with our organization, Share Our Strength, at the national level, but literally in every community -- whether it's a community group, a YMCA, or a church or a synagogue, there's a feeding program that you can donate to, you can drop off excess food to, you can make a contribution to, or you could actually help serve food yourself.

The private sector can't do it all. Government's got a role too. But individuals can make a difference on this issue.

PHILLIPS: That's my final question. Really quickly, Bill, before we let you go -- and I don't know if this is being too optimistic: Can hunger in the United States be solved? Can you put time on it?

SHORE: Absolutely. I believe that we can end hunger in the next five to ten years, if we have the will to do that. There's really three stages to the battle. The first stage has been a tremendous victory. We have built this incredible emergency food assistance network, tens of thousands of facilities around the country.

The second stage is to get them the resources that they need and to expand their capacity.

The third is to make sure that people aren't in the position where they need this assistance in the first place. We did that with seniors; some 50 years ago, with Social Security, we decided that there was no reason they should be the poorest among American's population. Today we've got to do with children and families.

PHILLIPS: Two words: get involved.

Bill Shore, founder of Share Our Strength. Great Web site. People can log on and find out how to help out. Thanks, Bill, for being with us.

SHORE: Thanks so much.

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