Stepping up to address hunger in Iowa and around the world

It’s not every day when you attend a formal luncheon where the hosts caution that you will walk away hungry.

But that’s exactly what happened this week, when I attended a special luncheon at the Iowa Hunger Summit, an opening event for the World Food Prize ceremonies in Des Moines.

The annual Iowa Hunger Summit aims to raise awareness of food insecurity both at home and abroad. The Iowa Farm Bureau and FBL Financial Group Inc. are joint sponsors of the Iowa Hunger Summit, hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation.

At the luncheon, I was seated next to one Iowan who helps send food and medical relief to Haiti and another Iowan who founded a non-profit organization to feed children in South Africa. Needless to say, I was humbled to be in their company, and proud to live in a state that fosters such great humanitarians.

Each luncheon guest was served a typical meal provided by food-relief organizations to feed hungry families here in Iowa or overseas. On my plate was a vegetarian meal–a cup of Iowa-grown butternut squash soup and a small serving of carrot raisin salad.

A woman sitting next to me received a plate of goat meat and rice, a meal enjoyed by families in Afghanistan, where Iowa soldiers are teaching citizens improved farming practices. The woman politely took a bite of the goat meat, but left the rest on her plate. “We’re going to have to stop at McDonald’s on the way home,” she joked to her colleague.

Meanwhile, the student sitting to her right enjoyed a Caesar salad wrap made with locally grown vegetables, an example of a meal served in many school cafeterias as part of the state’s “Farm to School” program. The wrap sandwich was so big, the student only ate half of it. And she didn’t touch the pint-size carton of milk that came with the meal.

I hate to admit this, but I was tempted to sneak that milk carton into my purse. I was still hungry after eating my cup of soup. Before the end of the luncheon, I was already making plans to buy a snack for my trip back to the office.

But then, the luncheon’s keynote speaker shared a video of his recent trip to Somalia, an African country gripped by widespread famine. The images of starving mothers and infants crying for food silenced the room.

I also learned from the volunteer sitting next to me that many people in Haiti live on less than $2 a day and are lucky to enjoy one meal a day. Our conversation weighed on my mind when I dug into my wallet to buy a $3 snack after the meeting.

Farm Bureau supports the Iowa Hunger Summit to help bring awareness to the urgent need to feed the hungry both at home and abroad.

As the world’s population continues to grow, the United Nations forecasts that global food production will need to increase 50 percent by the year 2030 to meet increasing demand.

Iowa farmers are stepping up to this challenge, adopting new technologies that allow them to produce more food using fewer resources. In addition, farmers are donating the foods they grow to local food banks, which are struggling right now to keep up with the need.

Yet as we learned at the Iowa Hunger Summit, everyone can play a part in solving world hunger. Consider donating to a food-relief organization or volunteering to hold a food drive in your community. It may seem like a small step, but it can make a world of difference.

Written by Teresa Bjork
Teresa is a features Writer for the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Carroll Woman Receives Free Groceries from Iowa’s Farmers, “Pays It Forward” to Local Food Bank

When asked how it feels to win a year’s worth of free groceries through the recently completed Iowa Farmers Feed US sweepstakes, Luci Heuton of Carroll responded “It’s wonderful! I’ve never won anything in my life!”

Understandable. Most of us haven’t had the fortune of winning anything as significant as $5,000 in food, freeing up extra cash for our more discretionary purchases. Luci was one of two winners – the other being Pam Davis of Grand Junction, Iowa – out of nearly 150,000 registrations on www.farmersfeedus.org/ia over a three month period. So what’s next on the list for Luci and her husband Paul: an exotic vacation; a down payment on a new car? Nah. How about a gift to the hard-luck folks of Carroll County who are still waiting for their first break?

“When good things come to you, you want to pass them along, so we decided to make a substantial contribution to the food bank here in town,” said Luci, who was hesitant to speak about her generosity and quick to tell me that she wasn’t looking for any extra attention.

It’s an inspiring idea, one that, coincidentally, dovetails with the purpose of the Farmers Feed US campaign: explaining how farmers grow safe, affordable and nutritious food for their communities and a world that’s home to 800 million hungry people.

Maybe it’s not so coincidental. Like Luci, who farmed with her husband until recently, Iowa farmers are continually looking for ways to give back to their communities, their civic organization and churches. Often that means helping to feed the less fortunate in their own hometowns, even as they strive to raise more food for a hungry world. The Farmers Feed US campaign was a good example. Iowa dairy farmers, though the Midwest Dairy Association, donated $1 to local food banks for every new “fan” that signed up on the Farmers Feed US Facebook page www.facebook.com/iafarmersfeedus. They also chipped in a buck for every “follower” who signed up on the Farmers Feed US Twitter account at www.twitter.com/iowafarmersfeedus. It all added up to about $30,000 extra dollars at a time when Iowa food banks are struggling with increasing demand and decreased supplies.

It’s that spirit of generosity—caring for the land, caring for animals and caring for neighbors—that makes living in Iowa so great.

Written by Zach Bader
Zach is a Communications Specialist for Iowa Farm Bureau.