September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2006 - No Kid Hungry

T H E I S S U ECHILDHOOD HUNGERIN AMERICAFor 23 years, ShareOur Strength has ledthe fight against hungerand poverty aroundthe world by inspiringindividuals and businessesto share theirstrengths. That missionhas not changed.Today, we believe we can best claim victoryby achieving sharply focused, strategic andmeasurable goals.When we looked into our own hearts andheads for what these goals should be, whatlooked back at us were the faces of hungrychildren all across America. It is shamefulthat in the wealthiest nation in the world,children living in more than 13 millionhomes do not have a reliable source ofnutritious food.WHY IS ENDING CHILDHOOD HUNGER IN AMERICA IMPORTANT?The facts are simple and compelling:RIO GRANDE VAL-LEY, N.M, HINGESOF HOPE TOUR• Hunger impedes growth anddevelopment, especially in childrenunder the age of 3.• Hunger leads to more illness,behavioral difficulties, hospitalizationand a greater susceptibility toobesity.• Hunger reduces our children’sability to recover from illness or healfrom injury.• Hunger reduces our children’sability to perform athletically andacademically.• Hunger raises the likelihood of infantmortality.• 1 in 5 American households withchildren live at risk of hunger.PHOTO CREDIT FOR PICTURE HERE• 12.9 million American childrenbenefited from food stamps in anaverage month this year.• 9 million families were served byfood pantries — yet thousands offamilies were turned away becausethe pantries had run out of food.Childhood hunger is anational problem thatcrosses all boundaries.It occurs in our largestcities and suburbs andin our smallest and mostremote rural towns,affecting children of allsizes, shapes andbackgrounds.T O D A Y , O U R P R I O R I T Y I S T O E N DS H A R E O U R S T R E N G T H A N N U A L R E P O R T F Y 2 0 0 6 4