Results: Since it was founded in 1975 by the late Harry Chapin and current Executive Director Bill Ayres, WhyHunger has:
*Referred hundreds of thousands of people in need to emergency food assistance, government programs and local community-based organizations through the National Hunger Hotline.
*Recognized over 150 outstanding community-based organizations fighting hunger and poverty across the United States through the Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards.
*Organized numerous lectures, workshops and tours for farmers, activists and educators from across the world to share their experiences, techniques and successes with their US-based colleagues through the Global Movements program.
*Educated 1/2 million people per year on community food security issues, including community food assessment, community gardens, community supported agriculture, farm to cafeteria programs, food policy councils, land use planning, local & regional food systems, domestic hunger & federal food programs, migrant & seasonal farmworkers, nutrition and rural poverty.
*Raised over $10 million for grassroots organizations throughout the United States through Artists Against Hunger & Poverty.
Geographic areas served: USA & Beyond
Programs: The global movements program - works through international and u. S. Civil society networks to link whyhunger's domestic work on hunger and poverty to global movements for food sovereignty and the basic rights to food, land, water, and sustainable livelihoods for all people.
artists against hunger and poverty/hungerthon - the organization forges relationships between artists and grassroots organizations to raise funds, collect food, and generate awareness in support of the fight against hunger in america and around the globe. Participating artists during this review period included bruce springsteen, michael mcdonald, jackson browne, darryl 'dmc' mcdaniels, crosby stills & nash, and others. This initiative helped grassroots organizations in the united states and others around the world who are helping thousands of people receive food, shelter, government benefits, as well as access to job training, agricultural programs, and the education they so desperately need to rebuild their lives.
national hunger clearinghouse - collects, develops and distributes information and resources to help build the capacity of emergency food providers to address the immediate needs of struggling families and individuals while promoting self-reliance and access to healthy food. The clearinghouse includes the national hunger hotline, (1-866-3 hungry or 1-866-348-6479), which refers people in need anywhere in the u. S. To food pantries, soup kitchens, government programs, and model grassroots organizations.
