The Friday morning session entitled “Food Justice: Tools to Help Organize and Lobby More Effectively” featured Scott Minkow and Eric Schockman. Minkow discussed the amazing work that he has been leading through the LA community Jewish Federation. One project that was really taking off is called “Fed Up With Hunger,” which approaches local city officials such as the County Board of Supervisors, the City Council, and others to incorporate healthy eating and living into neighborhoods around the city. In LA fashion the project enlisted the help of a celebrity person, Debra Messing, though it has also been tweeted by the famoulous Alyssa Milano. As the other panelist, Eric Schockman put it, “Fed Up With Hunger is an example of how a federation turns a battleship around” to make change.

Schockman, Executive Director of Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, then went on to discuss how we can locally end hunger in America. Citing President Obama’s pledge to end child hunger in America by 2015, Schockman also encouraged people to approach their city councils so that they can incentivize healthy supermarkets in “Food Deserts.”  Food Deserts occur in communities, usually in the lower-income areas of town, where there just aren’t many healthy foods to eat, the fruits and vegetables are the most expensive food around, and fast food restaurants, the bastion of unhealthy eating, are everywhere. Encouraging healthy supermarkets within one mile of low-income neighborhoods may be the best way to overcoming obesity and hunger, ironically two epidemics linked together.  Schockman challenged the participants to take the “Food Stamp Challenge,” which mimics the government’s subsidies towards ending hunger, only spending $21 a week on food, or $1 a meal! Sharing his own experiences, Schockman gained weight, illustrating why the hungry or poor can often be overweight.  Keeping in mind the failure of bipartisanship in the recent health care debate or legislation, Schockman reminded us that the only thing that will keep Congress from passing more active legislation ending child hunger by 2015 will be “Special Interests, Special Interests, Special Interests!” So after attending this session, the only thing left to do is write my congressperson and demand an end to the hunger affecting 17 million children in America.