WHY

WhyHunger (formerly World Hunger Year) is issuing a challenge to solve the global hunger crisis, which affects over a billion people worldwide. The organization is changing its name to WhyHunger effective March 3, 2010, which marks its 35th anniversary. The name change achieves two key goals: it conveys the organization's mission, which is to identify and address the root causes of hunger and poverty and provide innovative, community-based solutions; and it issues a challenge to the public, to question why hunger is one of the biggest crises facing humanity today.

“When [organization co-founder] Harry Chapin and I were trying to come up with a name, we worked on the “why” questions: ‘Why is there hunger in a world that can feed itself?’ Why is there hunger in the world’s richest country?’ Going back to the ‘why’ questions is going back to our roots,” explains WhyHunger’s Executive Director and co-founder Bill Ayres. “You can never change anything unless you ask the ‘why’ questions.”

Soaring unemployment and rising food prices have contributed to the growing hunger crisis in this country, as 49 million Americans, including 17 million children live with food insecurity and face a daily struggle to get adequate nutrition. 37 million Americans rely on emergency food assistance from soup kitchens, food pantries and food banks, and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) use is at a record high.

WhyHunger is addressing the crisis head-on by finding practical answers to the problems of hunger and poverty both in the short-term and over the long haul.

WhyHunger’s National Hunger Hotline refers individuals in need to emergency food assistance and government benefits for which they are eligible. Increasing access to government benefits injects more money into communities, thereby stimulating local economies.

By supporting grass-roots organizations that promote local farming, sustainable food production, and greater access to good food, WhyHunger looks to empower individuals and provide long-term solutions to the hunger and poverty crisis both in the United States and abroad.

About WhyHunger:

WhyHunger is dedicated to fighting the root causes of hunger and poverty by supporting grassroots organizations that create self-reliance, economic justice and equal access to nutritious and affordable food. Founded in 1975 by the late musician and activist Harry Chapin and current Executive Director Bill Ayres, WhyHunger works to put an end to the hunger suffered by 49 million Americans and more than 1 billion people worldwide. WhyHunger's main programs are: the National Hunger Hotline (1-866-3-HUNGRY), a service for individuals in need of emergency food assistance to soup kitchens, food banks, shelters, government programs and community organizations in their neighborhoods; the Grassroots Action Network, which provides information, networking opportunities, capacity building and access to more than 8,000 anti-hunger and poverty community organizations across the United States and around the world; Global Movements, a program linking the organization’s domestic work to broader global movements for food sovereignty and the basic rights to food, land, water and sustainable livelihoods; and Artists Against Hunger & Poverty, which is supported by Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, Michael McDonald, Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire, Joss Stone, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Jackson Browne, O.A.R., Papa Roach and many others. For more information, contact Lisa Ann Batitto, Communications Director, at 212-629-0853.