Freedom from Hunger
Comments given by Executive Director/CEO Charles McLimans at the June 14, 2012 Day Without Hunger flag-raising ceremony: Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry celebrated our Fifth annual Day without Hunger on Thursday, June 14th. We chose June for Day without Hunger because it is National Hunger Awareness Month. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of hunger in our community and reiterate a call to action to end hunger. Today, June 14th is also Flag Day. The 4th of July is America’s birthday, but on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution adopting the flag’s suggested design. The first Flag Day is believed to have originated in 1885 by a school teacher in Fredonia, Wisconsin named BJ Cigrand, when he arranged for the pupils of his school district to celebrate “Flag Birthday.” This year’s theme was Freedom from Hunger. Since the date we chose for our Day without Hunger coincided with Flag Day, we were inspired by our friends at the Exchange Club of Naperville to erect a flag pole, raise the Stars & Stripes over Loaves & Fishes, and celebrate a patriotic theme of Freedom from Hunger. The vision of Loaves & Fishes is ending hunger in our community, and we believe that Freedom from Hunger is an essential human right, an essential American freedom, and not a privilege. As one of our guest veteran speakers will tell us, adequate food is an essential element in society in order for democracy and freedom to flourish. We know that the United States is a land of plenty, and that here in the Midwest we inhabit the breadbasket of the world. Why then right here in DuPage County is 10% of the population food insecure (unable to obtain sufficient food through their own means), and why does one out of every five children fail to receive a sufficient quantity of food daily? This is unacceptable to us and, we know, to all of you as well. Our community agrees that hunger has no place here and that everyone deserves to be free from hunger. You all make the work of Loaves & Fishes possible through your generosity. At the end of this month as our fiscal year ends, we will have seen more than 27,000 family visits (over 100,000 persons represented in those visits)! This is a 70% increase over last year with our increased outreach to all of Naperville and DuPage County. We can say with a great deal of confidence that we are ending hunger and providing freedom from hunger to the multitude of friends and neighbors who rely on Loaves & Fishes as a primary food source for their families. Freedom from Hunger and Flag Day also provides a great opportunity for us to Salute our Veterans and Troops. I am thrilled to officially announce on this momentous occasion the latest collaborative service effort in our Pathways to Empowerment, our Veterans’ Services Program. Loaves & Fishes is proud to announce its newest partnership with the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, to bring assistance to the veterans of DuPage County that are experiencing hardship. Jeff Willis, the Northern Division Supervisor for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs will be with us today during Day Without Hunger to provide information to our clients and our to our community about services available to veterans. Our primary focus will be to assist eligible veterans and their families with VA healthcare and VA benefits, as well as the new GI Bill for retraining veterans ages 35-60. However, all veterans who have served in the military will be interviewed to determine what support might be available for their individual situations. A certified VA representative will be at Loaves & Fishes regularly to meet with veterans, and all services are provided free of charge. Why is Loaves & Fishes providing Veterans’ Services? Our Pathways to Empowerment programs are designed and programmed in collaboration with partners. Loaves & Fishes provides a central point of service for partners to deliver their programs. Food is the anchor that brings all people together, as we must all eat in order to survive, even warriors! Loaves & Fishes’ reach extends into communities all throughout DuPage County. The existing veterans’ services network is woefully inadequate to serve the overwhelming needs of aging veterans and returning troops. They have given their all for us. We must do the same for them. Loaves & Fishes will work with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to connect veterans with state and federal programs. In addition, we will enroll veterans in other programs sponsored by Loaves & Fishes in collaboration with partners such as Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Center and Fox Valley Institute for Growth & Wellness, where Dr. Laura Bokar is a noted PTSD expert. These programs will provide emotional support, along with job counseling and placement, financial education, and tax services, among other services. Did you know that DuPage County has the second largest population of veterans in the State of Illinois, behind Cook County? This must be an area of concern for all DuPage County residents, and Loaves & Fishes is proud to live out our mission and empower veterans and their families toward self-sufficiency. Food is and will continue to be our core mission and the anchor that unites our community, partners, and friends to find solutions to issues that prevent people from leading plentiful lives. None of us would enjoy Freedom from Hunger, or any other of the many freedoms we sometimes take for granted, were it not for the great sacrifices so many of our family, friends, and countrymen have made to preserve the principles, rights, and freedom represented and won by those who have fought and died under the Star Spangled Banner of the United States of America. Let us now stand as the American Legion Post #43 and VFW Post #3873 present the colors of our freedom. credit: Peter Hoffman Pictures of Day Without Hunger