Voice: Prep Grad Othello Medows's talk "Place as Fate"

This Saturday, Operation Others will deliver more than 600 food boxes to the zip codes Othello mentions in this talk.  His talk is inspiring and shocking at the same time. Check it out at Othello's talk

Event:Over 300 students attend the First Operation Others Large Group Meeting

On Wednesday, September 15 over 300 students from Omaha's Catholic High Schools attended this year's first large group meeting.  Although the Core Team has been meeting since the summer, this was the first chance all students interested in Operation Others could gather in order to learn about the issue of food insecurity and find out how they can get directly involved with the organization.  After a pizza dinner in the Prep Sullivan Center, students moved into classrooms where Core Team members showed a video and led a discussion regarding food insecurity in Omaha and shared personal stories relating to the issue.  Students also heard brief descriptions of upcoming fund raisers, and key event dates for 2010.  All students were encouraged to get involved by helping raise money, attending fund raises, and also by sharing information with others regarding the high food insecurity many Omaha citizens face each month.

Click here to see a handout from the meeting

Primary Source: Abstract from the 2008 Household Food Security in the US report published by the USDA

 "Eighty-five percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year

in 2008, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life

for all household members. The remaining households (14.6 percent) were food insecure

at least some time during the year, including 5.7 percent with very low food security—

meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their

eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money

and other resources for food. Prevalence rates of food insecurity and very low food secu-

rity were up from 11.1 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, in 2007, and were the highest

recorded since 1995, when the first national food security survey was conducted. The

typical food-secure household spent 31 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure

household of the same size and household composition. Fifty-five percent of all food-inse-

cure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition

assistance programs during the month prior to the 2008 survey."

source: Household Food Security in the

United States, 2008 report USDA

Mark Nord, marknord@ers.usda.gov

Margaret Andrews, mandrews@ers.usda.gov

and Steven Carlson

to view the entire report click this link

 http://www.bread.org/hunger/us/facts.html
to find information about applying for food stamps through the federal government's SNAP program visit  http://accessnebraska.ne.gov/index.htm