FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2006
Washington, DC - For the 14th consecutive year, Victory Wholesale Grocers of Springboro, Ohio and Boca Raton, Florida, and the Washington, D.C. based Congressional Hunger Center (CHC) have teamed up to recognize state-wide and local anti-hunger organizations and school systems that have worked effectively to fight hunger in their communities. Every member of Congress was given the opportunity to nominate organizations in their own community or state to receive one of the $1,000 prizes that are underwritten by Victory Wholesale Grocers. The Congressional Hunger Center received 84 nominations and made 20 awards. This year's competition marks a total of over $238,000 that has been awarded through the Victory Against Hunger Awards Program.
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA), CHC board co-chairs, have stated, "The Victory Against Hunger Award winners are living examples of men and women who are citizens and not just spectators. Every one involved with these anti-hunger organizations is dedicated to getting food into the hands of those who might otherwise go without. We are proud to add our names to the list of people giving them well-deserved praise for all they are doing to end hunger in their communities and across our country."
The 2006 VAH awards are being announced today at the Society for Nutrition Education’s 39th Annual Conference in San Francisco, California.
Awards were given to schools and local and statewide organizations that demonstrated success and creativity in “fighting hunger through developing and/or implementing local and state school meals wellness policies.” The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2004, championed by many of the members of Congress who nominated groups for these VAH awards, now requires schools to incorporate nutrition education, physical activity and improvements in the nutritional quality of all foods served in school as a pathway for educating this generation of children toward healthier eating habits and diet.
The Congressional Hunger Center is very grateful to the national organizations and Congressional staff which assisted us in the nomination process. These organizations include the School Nutrition Association, Action for Healthy Kids, Food Research and Action Center (and its Child Nutrition Forum members), Center for Science in the Public Interest (and its National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity members), and the Child Nutrition Division of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. All of these organizations played a leadership role in developing and implementing school wellness policy legislation.
The 2006 VAH selections committee, composed of the nation’s leading experts on school wellness policies, faced a daunting challenge with the 84 nominations. This year, the committee decided to not only recognize local school districts, but also awarded some of the outstanding statewide local and statewide advocacy agencies that played such a critical role in developing and implementing school wellness policies. We salute their effort and appreciate the work of the selections committee.
The selections committee chose the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), nominated by Representative Nancy Pelosi, because of its leadership role on school wellness. In January 2003, at the urging of SFUSD, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to remove soda and junk food from all district schools in response to soaring childhood obesity and related deadly disorders, such as asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes. The SFUSD school wellness approach has become a model for the nation.
Community Health Partnership (CHP) of Portland, Oregon, nominated by Senator Gordon H. Smith (OR) is also a 2006 VAH award winner. CHP organized a series of workshops across the state on school wellness. Working with local county health departments, the Oregon PTA, medical professional groups and school personnel, CHP focused on:
- Explaining the impetus behind wellness policies
- Providing information about food insecurity including the importance and availability of school nutrition programs, and
- The nature of the childhood obesity epidemic confronting our nation and how schools can become a part of the solution.
The annual "Victory against Hunger Awards" was established by David Kantor, President of Victory Wholesale Grocers, to recognize outstanding organizations in the United States that work to end hunger at the state and local level. Thirteen years ago Kantor teamed up with then Congressional Hunger Center Chairman, Rep. Tony Hall, because each believed strongly in the value of keeping members of Congress involved in solving the problem of hunger.
Founded in 1979, Victory Wholesale Grocers is a wholesale distributor of dry groceries and health and beauty care products. Victory is a national company, employing hundreds of people across the country, which distributes to wholesalers and retailers in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
Established in 1993, the Congressional Hunger Center's mission is to fight hunger by developing leaders who have a shared commitment to a nation and a world free from hunger. It embodies the spirit and goal of the former House Select Committee on Hunger, "to find real solutions to hunger and poverty."
Additional Information:
2006 Victory Against Hunger Winners
2006 Victory Against Hunger Winner Summaries
2006 Victory Against Hunger Advisory Committee
May 2006 Victory Against Hunger Announcement
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