WhyHunger marks 50 years of fighting for food security, a point of ‘pride and shame’
NEW YORK AP WhyHunger would have liked to be out of function by now Singer-songwriter Harry Chapin and radio DJ Bill Ayres founded the grassroots sponsorship organization in with the idea they could eradicate hunger at its root by leveraging their music industry connections to fund area groups advancing economic and food protection And yet the global nonprofit is hitting the half-century mark this year an anniversary that reflects the sobering need for continued food assistance It is pride and shame in equal measure explained Jen Chapin the daughter of Harry Chapin and a WhyHunger board member at the nonprofit s gala Wednesday night That this organization is still relevant when hunger is a wholly solvable issue it s embarrassing Established amid transformative expansions of federal food programs just before the United States significantly cut social welfare WhyHunger marks its -year milestone at a time of worsening food insecurity worldwide when particular of the wealthiest countries are decreasing their humanitarian commitments As part of the Trump administration s swift scaling back of the federal cabinet funding streams are being shut off for numerous in the nonprofit s grid that help millions of hungry people access nutritious food Chapin explained the immense need and that the political conversation has gone backward would be infuriating to her late father But he wouldn t pause to rant she revealed He d be like OK what can we do The U S Department of Agriculture estimates more than million people including nearly million children lived in food-insecure households in a situation WhyHunger blames on deeper systemic issues of rising inflation the rollback of pandemic relief and poor wages Those statistics were ridiculous to Grammy award-winning rockers Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo The couple which performed its hit Love Is a Battlefield was recognized Wednesday with the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award given to artists who use their influence to foster social justice Giraldo revealed they ve been involved with WhyHunger for years The backing began with their relationship to Harry Chapin and his family as well as their advocacy for children s causes Music brings so a great number of people together Benatar stated the Associated Press I think it s just inevitably a good start If we can help in any way that s what we re trying to do just be helpers Giraldo added The annual awards gala hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center s Frederick P Rose Hall raised more than on Wednesday night alone The proceeds directly supported WhyHunger s programs in the U S and other countries The nonprofit aims to not only feed people but create systems-level change by training local farmers connecting people to leadership benefits promoting indigenous food sovereignty and defending food workers rights It s not enough to feed people for a day Jen Chapin mentioned It s not even enough to teach a man to fish so that he can get his own food You have to also create the social movement so that there is a food system that enables that farmer that fisherperson to get a fair price for their work feed their local population Among the benefactors were WhyHunger Board of Directors Chair Cindy Secunda and billionaire Bloomberg L P co-founder Tom Secunda whose family foundation has contributed over million to WhyHunger since Like multiple WhyHunger supporters Cindy stated she was first introduced to their work during Harry Chapin concerts in college She would donate or so per his end-of-show requests But she stated she didn t ramp up her giving until more in recent months when she was invited to see the work of WhyHunger s partners up close They get so much more done with such a small staff she stated I ve never seen anything like it The nonprofit has not increased its staff totals much over its years to stay nimble and serve those who are serving according to Chapin The biggest change has been the philanthropic sector s overall approach to fighting food insecurity staff say Paternalistic top-down attitudes toward aid were more dominant when the organization was founded The idea that hunger is connected to issues of racism and context was not as widespread then according to Debbie DePoala WhyHunger s senior director of communications The nonprofit has long centered residents agenda in conversations about hunger according to Jan Poppendieck a former board member and CUNY professor who has studied the history of food assistance She hopes the outlook isn t lost What they have done best is assist local innovative progressive organizations Poppendieck explained Assist them financially because of this ability as I say to extract moolah from the entertainment industry and assist them with sharing best practices introducing them to each other bringing them together so that people can learn from each other Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives backing through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content For all of AP s philanthropy coverage visit https apnews com hub philanthropy Source
