Sacramento Hunger Commission Fact Sheet 2004
The Hunger Commission was created in response to a definitive two-year
study commissioned by the Community Services Planning Council. "Hunger
Hits Home", published in 1989, defined the scope of hunger in Sacramento
County and recommended that the anti-hunger network officially organize
to provide better services to feed hungry residents and prevent food insecurity.
In 1990 representatives from nutrition programs, religious organizations,
emergency food sites, media, business and advocacy groups joined to form
the Sacramento Hunger Commission with the goal of improving the utilization
of existing resources and mobilizing new resources to end hunger in Sacramento.
The Hunger Commission believes that hunger can be prevented and is not
acceptable in a just society. Therefore, the goal of the Hunger Commission
is to end hunger by ensuring that all people are able to provide themselves
adequate food for an active healthy lifestyle. To do so, the Hunger Commission
has taken the responsibility to:
- Examine the infrastructure and other barriers that prevent full utilization
of federal food programs and propose needed local, state and federal
changes to allow for maximum use of these programs
- Educate the community about issues of hunger and community food security,
and provide outreach to underserved groups
- Mobilize and coordinate community resources to address food insecurity
and hunger, and ultimately to reduce the need for emergency food services
- Examine long-range capability of and implement activities designed
to strengthen volunteer services to address these issues
A Sample of Accomplishments 2002-2003
- Developed and implemented workshops to increase the level of awareness
and knowledge of nutrition among low-income residents in Sacramento
County, and staff of organizations serving these residents.
- Continued to adapt and facilitate "Hunger 101", an interactive
public education/advocacy tool intended to increase the awareness of
concerned residents and local policymakers regarding the challenges
many low-income Sacramento families face trying to get food on a regular
basis. Approximately 600 people from a variety of backgrounds, from
Americorps* NCCC volunteers to members of the Placer County Hunger Committee,
participated in this exercise in 2002 and 2003.
- Finalized our new comprehensive web site: www.targethunger.com
- Implemented a successful Food Stamp Program Outreach Project geared
toward increasing participation in the Program among seniors 60 and
over (participation increased by 20% in the 12-month period).
- Sponsored increasingly high-profile Hope Awards Luncheons in 2002
and 2003 to recognize outstanding efforts to combat hunger.
- Completed bilingual flyers with information on local food resources
for 19 areas in Sacramento for a new Neighborhood-Based Outreach Project,
and began their distribution using volunteer Commissioners.
- Published last four (grant-funded) issues of a well-received Community
Food Newsletter in 2003, and found a new home for community food security-related
information in the neighborhood's free community newspaper, the North
Sacramento Union, in 2004.
- Set up two major projects that will be implemented in 2004: an edible
landscaping project with Mercy Housing and a community food assessment
with the neighborhoods of Avondale and Glen Elder.
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