THE VERMONT FOODBANK AND FOOD WORKS AT TWO RIVERS CENTER JOIN IN NATIONWIDE OBSERVATION OF NATIONAL HUNGER AWARENESS DAY

[Montpelier, May 24, 2006]—Today, Wednesday, May 24, 2006, the Vermont Foodbank, a Member of America's Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network, joins Food Works at Two Rivers Center and thousands of domestic hunger-relief organizations in communities nationwide in recognizing National Hunger Awareness Day 2006.

In Vermont, Hunger Awareness Day will focus on the creation of the new Foodbank Farm at Two Rivers Center.  Volunteers from Ben & Jerry’s will be working at both the Vermont Foodbank and Two Rivers Center planting crops, making food boxes, and preparing meals for the hungry.  At 3PM, Governor James Douglas will join the volunteers and the staffs of both Food Works and the Vermont Foodbank to kick off the Foodbank Farm.   
 
“We have the resources in this country to ensure that every one of our neighbors has access to adequate food,“ said Deborah Flateman, chief executive officer of the Vermont Foodbank.  “But there are road blocks for many trying to access this food. The Foodbank Farm at Two Rivers Center is a new initiative that is working to eliminate some of those obstacles.  We will be able to offer low-income Vermonters greater access to local, fresh produce.”
Joseph Keifer, executive director of Food Works expressed his enthusiasm for the new collaboration, “This is a powerful example of planting seeds for local food security and ensuring that not only do our neighbors have access to fresh locally grown food but too the skills of cooking, nutrition, and food preservation.”

To learn more about National Hunger Awareness Day activities around the country and how to get involved, visit www.hungerday.org

For more information, contact:
Judy Stermer
jstermer@secondharvest.org