Jerome,

is a teenager living in East New York, Brooklyn. Until recently, he was having trouble in school, earning poor grades and getting into fist fights with other children. At home, he talked back to his mother and often went hungry due to the family's limited income.

Today, Jerome is an intern at East New York Farms!, one of WhyHunger's Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award recipients. For the past nine months, he has been involved in all aspects of running a 1/2 acre urban farm and farmers' market, provided support to other gardens throughout East New York and learned about the environment, health & nutrition, entrepreneurship and leadership.

He can now tell the difference between a squash and a cucumber, brings fresh produce home to his family and is working to improve his grades so that he can become an intern again next year, training other youth with his new-found skills.

Jim's

unemployment benefits were coming to an end and he was about to lose his home to foreclosure.

As a result, he couldn't afford a meal for his family. Jim called WhyHunger's National Hunger Hotline seeking help. Hotline staff determined Jim's location and situation and provided him with the addresses of several soup kitchens and food pantries in his community as well as the phone number for the SNAP Program (formally known as Food Stamps).

That way he could feed his family in the short term and receive ongoing food assistance while he continued to look for work.

Sally,

a single mother from San Diego who had recently lost her job, called WhyHunger's National Hunger Hotline.

She had awakened that morning to find only a few packages of beans and noodles remaining in her kitchen cupboards.

WhyHunger provided Sally with the address of her local food pantry as well as instructions on how to apply for the federal Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formally known as food stamps.

Jessica,

a mother of two, didn't qualify for the SNAP program due to the minimum wage she earned at a local factory.

After paying her monthly rent and utility bills, she was left with little money for food for herself and her family. Jessica called the National Hunger Hotline seeking assistance.

The Hotline staff provided her with the address of a food pantry near her home and gave her the number for a utility assistance program.

Shaine

is a mother of three who lives in eastern Tennessee. Without a car or access to public transportation, Shaine must walk two miles roundtrip with her children in tow to the nearest supermarket.

Using the money awarded by WhyHunger's Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards, Rural Resources, a community-based organization local to Shaine, operates a Mobile Farmer's Market that travels the region and allows community members to purchase fresh and nutritious food at affordable prices close to their homes.

Dian

was a young orphan living on the streets of Semarang, Indonesia when he was introduced to The Learning Farm, a participant in WhyHunger's 2008 Imagine There's No Hunger campaign.

The Learning Farm trains street children, school dropouts and unemployed youth in organic farming techniques, entrepreneurship and life skills.

After spending four months at the Learning Farm's residential program, where he learned about all facets of farm management, Dian found employment at a nearby commercial farm and is beginning to develop his own organic farming enterprise.

Anena

is a young Ugandan girl who was orphaned as a result of the country's brutal civil war.

She is now living with 210 other orphans, refugees and former child soldiers at Hope North, an accredited school and vocational training center located on a 40-acre campus in northern Uganda, and a participant in WhyHunger's 2008 Imagine There's No Hunger campaign. Anena's favorite daily activity is working in the schools' gardens, tending to sweet potatoes, maize, beans and spices.

She, along with her classmates, cultivate the school's gardens, help with the preparation of meals and enjoy the fruit of their labor three times a day. In addition to providing education and vocational training, Hope North provides community, hope and healing to these refugees and orphans.