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Health & Fitness

Legislators and community members advocate for fighting hunger in the North Shore

More than 400 people attended Temple Jeremiah’s Hunger Summit, a three-day community-wide advocacy event focusing on hunger in our community from Dec. 6-8.

“In the richest nation in the world, far too many families suffer from hunger and malnutrition,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, who participated in the summit. “Even as the economy continues to slowly recover, food insecurity remains a real, pressing challenge in our local communities, which is why I was eager to join my colleagues and Temple Jeremiah for the Hunger Summit to discuss how we can work together to address food insecurity and provide our families with the help they need.”

The weekend culminated on Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Northfield, Ill. synagogue with a panel discussion featuring seven legislators: Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Brad Schneider; State Sens. Daniel Biss, Julie Morrison; and State Reps. Scott Drury, Laura Fine, and Elaine Nekritz.

“It was incredibly gratifying to see that our temple community could come together and learn about the issues of hunger and start to develop relationships with their legislators,” said Barb Miller, Temple Jeremiah’s social action vice president.

The weekend began on Friday evening during Sabbath worship with a presentation on food insecurity in our community from Pete Schaefer of Northern Illinois Food Bank.

“We learned from Schaefer’s presentation that there has been a shift in hunger,” Miller said. “The number of hungry people in the suburbs is growing at a quick rate. There may be people living next to you who are food insecure and you just don’t know it.”

On Saturday afternoon, the temple showed the film “A Place at the Table,” followed by a discussion led by David Lee of Feeding America. Lee explained how the federal government funds SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), the program formerly known as food stamps. He also explained how five calls to a legislator from people living in their district is considered significant and can make a real difference.

Sunday’s legislative panel discussion, attended by around 300 people, was moderated by Steven McCullough of Greater Chicago Food Depository.  

“It was so enlightening to listen to our elected officials talking from their heart rather than a campaign speech,” said Marcia Osher, a Temple Jeremiah congregant and member of the social action committee. “I was able to share this important experience with my 14-year-old daughter, and I think it will have a lasting impact on how she views the world and her obligations in the future.”

While adults and teenagers learned about the government’s role in solving hunger on Sunday morning, the students in religious school held a food drive, listened to a speaker from the Northfield Township Food Pantry, and wrote and decorated letters to legislators on poster board.

“Dear Government,” read a letter from a first grade class, “Please help the poor people. There should be no hungry people. Could you please help the poor people by donating food? Thank you.”

To learn more about Temple Jeremiah’s anti-hunger advocacy efforts, visit www.templejeremiah.org/hunger.


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