North Carolina is not immune to the problems of hunger; a condition experts say affects one in eight Americans.

In an attempt to harness the enthusiasm and energy of 4-H members throughout North Carolina, state leaders have rolled out the Hungry to Help Program. The N.C. 4-H Youth Development Program joined forces with the Food Banks of North Carolina to promote awareness of hunger in this state and find ways to stop it.

Last summer, the program got off to quite a start. More than 350 4-H members from throughout North Carolina gathered at Dorton Arena on the N.C. State Fairgrounds and repackaged 37,900 pounds of pasta from giant containers into smaller, family-sized portions for distribution.

State 4-H leaders shared some startling data about North Carolina from Feeding America, a hunger relief organization that often works with the American Farm Bureau Federation on related projects. North Carolina is ranked as the second-worst state for access to nutritious food for children age 5 and younger and comes in 10th-worst overall nationally in the number of hungry residents.

“Exciting plans are under way to prepare 4-Hers, 4-H volunteers and alumni to host a variety of hunger awareness programs, can food drives and sponsor hunger-related volunteer efforts in their local communities,” state 4-H Leader Dr. Marshall Stewart says. “Our family is gearing up to prepare participants to be citizen leaders for hunger relief.”

Clyde Fitzgerald, executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, is enthusiastic about what the Hungry to Help Program can do.
“Collectively together, we’ll put a big dent in the problem of hunger,” Fitzgerald says. “There’s nothing more basic than the need for food.”

ON THE WEB
N.C. 4-H Youth Development Program
www.nc4hstories.org
Feeding America
Feedingamerica.org

Nash County’s Fisher Steers Award to 4-H
Last fall, the America’s Farmers Grow Communities Program decided to award $2,500 to former Nash County Farm Bureau President Bobby Joe Fisher so he could send the money to a local nonprofit organization. The thought of where the money should go brought Fisher back to when he was in the sixth grade a couple of years after World War II.

“I wanted a calf to show so bad,” Fisher recalls. “I knew my daddy couldn’t afford one. But a neighbor of ours knew how bad I wanted to show a calf, and he gave me one. I’ve never forgotten that. I’ve always been one who’s wanted to give back to 4-H because of that one thing.”

So Fisher didn’t hesitate to pass along the $2,500 to the Nash County 4-H. During a dinner revealing the decision that brought together several county officials, a pair of congressmen and representatives from the N.C. Department of Agriculture, Fisher spotted a product of the Nash County 4-H who is particularly special to him. Several years ago, Fisher gave a calf to Susan Whitley, who used the animal to start her savings toward a college degree. Whitley graduated from East Carolina University and now teaches in Nashville.

This award money that came from the Monsanto Fund was added to a pool the Nash County 4-H has collected for years to fund college scholarships.

Fisher wholeheartedly believes in what 4-H represents, whether it’s raising livestock or cultivating crops.

“It’s so important for them to have a project and know where food comes from and learn the love of those animals and what it can mean,” Fisher says. “I know what a good program it is for teaching young people.”