Governor launches Hunger Awareness Week 2006

(SALEM) - Kicking off Hunger Awareness Week 2006, Governor Ted Kulongoski today honored some of Oregon`s `hunger heroes" at the Oregon Food Bank 2006 Luncheon of Champions at Northwest Natural Gas headquarters in Portland.

Celebrating Oregon`s successes in the fight against hunger, Governor Kulongoski also announced that he has received the 2006 Action Summary from the Oregon Hunger Relief Taskforce. This new report updates the `Act to End Hunger," Oregon`s five-year strategic plan released during Hunger Awareness Week in 2004.

`Together, we have made progress in Oregon`s fight against hunger. Fewer people go to bed hungry every night in Oregon than three years ago," Governor Kulongoski said. `But our work is not done. We must continue to work together toward solutions that cross party lines, cross regional boundaries and cross generations. We must not rest until hunger is eliminated, and every Oregonian has access to the food needed to stay healthy and lead productive lives."

Since the Governor took office, Oregon`s hunger insecurity rate has declined from first in the nation to nineteenth, according to federal rankings. Last year, Oregon was the only state in the country to reduce its hunger rate. In addition, Oregon`s food stamp participation rate is now the highest in the country, reaching 83 percent of Oregonians eligible for the program.

`We will win this fight against hunger because we`re fighting it on two fronts," Governor Kulongoski said. `First, through support from individuals and businesses alike, the Oregon Food Bank Network and its local partners are moving millions of pounds of food across the state and onto the tables of hungry citizens, meeting hungry Oregonians` emergency food needs. And second, through the work of the Taskforce, the Oregon Food Bank, and many others, we`re addressing hunger`s root causes and giving Oregonians the opportunity to earn a living wage so they can afford to pay their basic needs and put food on the table to feed their families."

Included among the many accomplishments in the fight against hunger the Governor is celebrating this week are:

Oregon`s additional 100,000 new jobs and the increase in the average personal income; Expanded access to post-secondary education for low-income Oregonians through the Oregon Opportunity Grants, which the Governor nearly doubled to reach every eligible student and for the first time, part-time students; More money in the pockets of working families to pay for basic needs: Beginning this year, Oregon`s Earned Income Tax Credit is now refundable and increasing to 6 percent of the federal credit in 2008; More children benefiting from Oregon`s Summer Food Program, with the number of meals served increasing by 31 percent (from 960,475 to 1,259,276) between 2003 and 2005, and the percentage of eligible children served increasing from 18 percent to 22 percent; More uninsured Oregonians saving money on their prescription drugs, with more than 3,400 individuals saving an average of $25 per prescription through the Oregon Prescription Drug Program.

More detail about the progress on the 40 action steps in the Act to End Hunger appears in the 2006 Action Summary, at www.oregonhunger.org. At Hunger Awareness events this week, the Governor will highlight his priorities outlined in the report, including his initiatives to protect working families from unfair check-cashing fees; expand health care access to every child in Oregon; and improve the ability of low-income families to obtain fresh produce at farmers markets and stands throughout the state.

At today`s luncheon, the Governor delivered the first annual Jerry Tippens Advocacy Award in honor of one of Oregon`s founding leaders in the fight against hunger. Tippens was a former Oregon Food Bank Board Chair and worked to both promote awareness about the root causes and to increase accessibility to emergency food for those in need. The Jerry Tippens Advocacy Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary personal commitment in word and actions to combating the root cause of hunger. This year`s award was presented to Senator Gordon Smith, for his exemplary leadership to fight cuts to Medicaid and Food Stamps.

`Senator Smith is a man of principle and of honor," said the Governor. `He has worked tirelessly and courageously to fight federal budget cuts and help his colleagues understand the connection between those important safety-net programs and the issue of hunger. I congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition, and urge all Oregonians to support the Senator`s continued effort to fight cuts to low-income and working families at the federal level."