Persistent Poverty and Upward Mobility Theme Project
Outreach

 

October 14, 2008
Talk at Empty Bowls Samaritan Center Fundraiser
Christine Olson
Elmira College
11:30 a.m.

Nutrition Problems to Worsen, Expert Says
by Jeff Murray, Staff Writer

The problem of hunger has been growing for the past 10 years and is likely to get much worse, according to a Cornell University nutrition expert.

Christine M. Olson, professor of community nutrition at Cornell, was the keynote speaker Tuesday at the third annual Empty Bowls, Open Hearts Luncheon.

The event at Elmira College is designed to heighten awareness and to raise money for the Samaritan Center on South Main Street in Elmira.

Olson and a team of students started work on quantifying the extent of the hunger problem in the U.S. in the mid-1980s and, over the years, came up with some disturbing revelations.

Olson said in addition to actual hunger, many people face food insecurity — lack of food with adequate nutrition, along with anxiety about having enough food in the house.

"In 2006, the most recent year we have statistics for, 10.9 percent of the population was food insecure, and 4 percent was hungry. That's stunning, and I'm sure it's going to go up dramatically," Olson said. "It has been going up since 1999. Our country is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to making progress on this."

Hunger and food insecurity can lead to problems with learning among children, and a host of medical issues among the elderly, Olson said.

The luncheon coincides with World Hunger Day. It began in a Michigan high school classroom and has become a popular event to raise awareness of the effects of hunger and food insecurity.

Tuesday's participants got to keep commemorative empty bowls that were made by Elmira College ceramics classes and potters in the community.

Sponsors for the luncheon included Barb's Soups On Cafe, Elmira College, Multi Media Services Inc. and Seneca Beverage Corp.

The kinds of problems Olson described Tuesday are happening right now in the Elmira area, Samaritan Center program coordinator Thea Parker said.

Tuesday's luncheon will help address that growing need, she said.

"It will go to programs and services that we provide. We have over $15,000, and we hope to reach a goal of about $20,000," Parker said. "There's no shortage of need. The food insecurity that Christine talked about is here in Chemung County. People eat the same thing every day and they have to make choices. That's here."

Copyright (c) Star-Gazette. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Record Number: elm57713646

Contact

socialsciences@cornell.edu

607-255-3304