For over 10 years, the Congressional Hunger
Center has fought to make domestic and international hunger
a priority for leaders in the U.S. government, and to raise
up a new generation of leaders to fight hunger. Its success
in educating leaders to fight hunger comes in part from its
connection to the former House Select Committee on Hunger.
Founded in 1983 by Congressmen Benjamin Gilman, Mickey Leland,
and Tony
Hall, the Select Committee on Hunger was known for its
efforts to find real solutions to national and international
hunger and poverty.
Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) chaired the Select Committee
until he lost his life during a humanitarian mission to the
Horn of Africa in 1989. Leland felt strongly that hunger could
be ended and lamented, "I cannot get used to hunger and
desperate poverty in our plentiful land. There is no reason
for it, there is no excuse for it, and it is time that we
as a nation put an end to it."
Congressman
Tony Hall (D-OH) succeeded Leland as chairman of the Select
Committee on Hunger until the House of Representatives unexpectedly
voted to eliminate all its Select Committees in 1993. Hall
responded by embarking on a 22-day fast, an act that helped
to bring Republicans and Democrats together to create the
Congressional Hunger Center. In 1994, former Congressman Bill
Emerson (R-MO) joined Tony
Hall as the first co-chair of our bi-partisan Center.
Today, CHC is co-chaired by Rep.
Jo Ann Emerson(R-MO) and Rep.
James P. McGovern (D-MA).
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CHC will continue to expand our program and
advocacy activities in 2005 to include close partnerships
with the newly formed Senate and House Hunger Caucuses. On
February 9, 2005 we will celebrate our accomplishments at
a 10th anniversary gala, where Ambassador Tony Hall, former
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, and Senator Elizabeth
Dole will be honored with leadership awards for their significant
contributions in the fight against hunger.
With over 500 leaders trained in our programs to date, we
are fulfilling our mission to raise up a new generation of
leaders committed to ending hunger in our lifetime!
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CHC partnered with The UPS Foundation to convene
the first National Hunger Forum in Washington, DC. With over
100 participants, the Forum provided guidance to the UPS Foundation
on major anti-hunger initiatives. Outside experts conducted
a comprehensive 10 year evaluation of the National Hunger
Fellows Program. The 11th class of Emerson National Fellows
were trained and sent to their field placements, and the 2nd
class of Leland International Fellows began their policy placements.
CHC fellows have now served in 36 of the United States, the
District of Columbia, and in Puerto Rico, as well as in 14
countries around the world!
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The Leland Fellows returned from their field
year and began their policy placements in Washington, D.C.
and Rome, Italy. CHC founder, Representative Tony
Hall, was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Food
and Agriculture Agencies of the United Nations in Rome, Italy.
The CHC board elected Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
and Representative James McGovern (D-MA) to serve as board
co-chairs.
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CHC launched the new Mickey Leland International
Hunger Fellows Program, with 14 dedicated participants. Fellows
worked with organizations based in Africa, Central and South
America, and Asia and participated in activities including
agriculture, emergency relief, school feeding and nutrition.
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The National Fellows continued their stellar work in a growing
number of partner organizations across 20 states throughout
America. The Victory Against Hunger Award Program granted
the 70th $1,000 award to effective anti-hunger organizations
that are nominated by a Member of Congress.
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CHC achieved a milestone as the U.S. Congress provided supporting
funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish
the Mickey Leland International and Bill Emerson National
Hunger Fellowships. The Beyond Food community leadership program
established a new team in North Carolina following the Hurricane
Floyd disaster. CHC sponsored important international conferences
on basic education, nutrition and psychosocial services for
refugees, and early warning systems for complex humanitarian
emergencies.
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Our mission of "Fighting Hunger By Developing
Leaders" is validated by hundreds of requests from across
the nation to host our Fellows. To highlight food shortages
in the U.S. and around the world, CHC helds events including
the World Food Day 5K Race and a Candlelight Vigil for North
Korea at the Capitol Reflecting Pool. CHC Founder, Tony
P. Hall, visited North Korea for the fourth time to focus
Congressional attention on severe food shortages. CHC board
member, Representative Frank Wolf, traveled to Sudan to mobilize
food aid for displaced persons and called for an end to human
rights violations.
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The CHC Beyond Food Program proudly fielded
over 100 hunger fighters across the Mississippi Delta, the
state of Vermont, and in the cities of Washington, D.C. and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition, the national fellows continued
with placements at new policy organizations such as the Food
Research Action Center, Bread for the World, Share Our Strength,
and the National Coalition for the Homeless. Along with the
USDA, Second Harvest, and Foodchain, CHC co-sponsored the
first National Summit on Food Recovery and Gleaning, where
over 1,000 hunger advocates made recommendations on how to
recover and use billions of pounds of excess food in the U.S.
John Morrill, a former Select Committee on Hunger staff, succeeded
Gene Dewey as CHC's executive director. Dr. Margaret Zeigler
is promoted to become CHC's deputy director.
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CHC expanded our national fellowship programs
and corresponding partners to include UPS, General Motors,
the C.S. Mott Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, and the
Soros Foundation. The Presbyterian Hunger Program, Share Our
Strength, and the Philip Morris Companies contributed to our
growing program activities. The U.S. Institute of Peace awarded
CHC a grant to conduct research on civil-military cooperation
in humanitarian emergencies in Bosnia. CHC established our
national "Beyond Food" community leaders program,
with new partners in California, Vermont, Mississippi and
Wisconsin.
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CHC expanded our national fellows program through
a challenge grant from the Corporation for National Service.
With a new pilot "Beyond Food" team focused exclusively
on hunger in our nation's capital, the CHC's vision of training
national and community leaders was well underway. Funding
from World Vision, the Reebok Foundation, and the American
Red Cross helped establish CHC international humanitarian
assistance initiatives in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide
in Africa.
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Congressman
Hall and his friends, Republican Congressmen
Bill Emerson and Frank Wolf, established the CHC as a
bi-partisan, tax-exempt non-profit organization and used private
donations to establish staff and programs. A diverse board
was formed with representatives from the food industry, hunger
policy experts, activists from the entertainment world, and
several Members of Congress. Arthur E. (Gene) Dewey, a former
senior official with the Reagan and Bush Administrations,
served as CHC's first executive director.
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