The West Hollywood City Council to Launch a "Campaign to End Hunger and Food Insecurity in West Hollywood" on Monday, November 6, 2006.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Declaring that no one in the City of West Hollywood should go hungry, the West Hollywood City Council will kick-off a "Campaign to End Hunger and Food Insecurity in West Hollywood" on Monday, November 6, 2006 at 10 a.m. at West Hollywood City Hall Lobby, 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard. The Campaign to End Hunger and Food Insecurity seeks to create food assistance collaborations that will provide help to people of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities.

West Hollywood is generally viewed as a relatively affluent community, however, census data shows that a significant number of West Hollywood residents live below the poverty line. Many of these households include Seniors, children, immigrants and people living with AIDS or other disabilities. The major components of the campaign will include:

* Working with the L.A. County Department of Public Social Services to ensure that all eligible West Hollywood residents are enrolled in available federally-funded programs such as the food stamp program, the school breakfast program and the after-school snack program.

* Working with local school principals to ensure that all low income students are receiving school meals and snacks and that the availability of those meals accommodates students' varying schedules.

* Identifying West Hollywood children who are receiving federally-funded school meals and develop a plan to provide nutritious meals during the summer for these children.

* Identifying regular clients of our existing meal programs and food banks to develop and implement a plan to reduce, where possible, the issues that cause these individuals to rely on emergency food assistance.

* Outreaching to residents of affordable housing, tenants receiving fee rebates and taxi vouchers to ensure that their nutritional needs are being met.

* Supporting legislation at the state and federal level designed to fight hunger.

* Developing partnerships with local residents and businesses to expand the capacity of West Hollywood food banks and other local programs, local churches and synagogues in and around West Hollywood that administer their own feeding programs.

The Campaign to End Hunger and Food Insecurity news conference will feature guest speakers John Gile, Executive Director of Project Angel Food, Ted Landreth, Executive Director of the West Hollywood Food Coalition, an organization that has fed the City's homeless population for the last twelve years. The news conference will also feature Eric Shockman, Executive Director for Mazon, a Jewish Response to Hunger, a non-profit organization that works around the United States, and the globe, to bring critical relief to millions of hungry families, and Leslie Friedman, Executive Director of SOVA Food Pantry. The news conference will also include a visual display of local food banks in action, and a month long installation of statistics regarding hunger as well as the unveiling of a new resource guide which lists local organizations that fight hunger.

For more information regarding the Campaign to End Hunger and Food Insecurity in West Hollywood, please contact Fran Solomon, Deputy to West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, at [phone]. For the hearing impaired, please call [phone].