THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410040153
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
A group of 40 Hampton Roads residents interested in combatting hunger formulated a list of eight recommendations of action for state officials at a Norfolk forum sponsored by the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia recently.
The forum, one of eight hosted by foodbanks throughout Virginia, was held after the state's secretary of health and human services, Kay Coles James, asked localities for help in completing a study on hunger for Gov. George Allen. Her study will be presented to the 1994-95 General Assembly.
Norfolk's Hunger Forum was set at the Howard Johnson Hotel in downtown Norfolk. The focus of the four-hour symposium was on children and the elderly, the most vulnerable members of our society, said Lisa Sands, the Foodbank's director of development.
``The goal is to go past the canned food drive and helping someone in an emergency to educating legislators into making systematic changes,'' she said.
During the forum, the coalition of residents recommended that:
Access to school breakfast and lunch programs be universal as a way to improve health, retention and attention among schoolchildren.
Child nutrition programs and other federal programs be certified in order to close service gaps.
High-risk 4-year-olds be identified and then certified for participation in Head Start so that these children can receive free or reduced meals as soon as they begin kindergarten.
A state office of nutrition be established to coordinate federal and state food service programs so that any gaps in service can be avoided and federal dollars now escaping Virginians can be captured.
More state support and tax credits be established for businesses that donate monies to charities offering food services.
A study be undertaken to eliminate the sales tax on food, ``a regressive tax which requires the poor to pay at a higher rate than the rich,'' according to the coalition.
An earned-income tax credit be implemented that puts more dollars in the pockets of low-income working parents.
The state provide meals and home delivery programs for the elderly and ill. Volunteer programs need help in meeting the growing need for this type of service, said Sands.
Participants in the forum included city officials, business executives, church members, non-profit agency officials and other interested residents. According to Sands, the Foodbank mailed forum invitations to 323 of its agency members. by CNB