Congressional Hunger Center

It's time for #HungerFellow Roll Call! 🥁 Meet Nyami Aghedo, one of the 14 passionate leaders that make up the 31st Class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows. Nyami is a native of Charlotte, N.C., and recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in Public Policy and English and Comparative Literature. This fall Nyami will be placed with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, working on increasing advocacy capacity and partnerships with organizations focused on root causes of poverty. "I'm thrilled to learn from and collaborate with leaders who are driving meaningful change!" says Nyami, and we're thrilled to have her as part of our 31st class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows! 🎉 Follow the Hunger Center on LinkedIn to get to know the rest of the class and see where they'll be working this fall and winter.

It is my sincere honor to present the 31st class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows! These 14 emerging leaders in the fight to end hunger and poverty in the US are gathered in Washington, DC this week for orientation at the Hunger Center's office. Next week they will be heading out to their field placements, which are located throughout the US. The Emerson Program team has enjoyed getting to know each of you during the selection process, and we are excited to get to know you further during your time as fellows! Thanks to all of the great organizations that have partnered with us to host these amazing fellows! We could not do this without your support. We know that each of you fellows will do amazing and lasting work at your field placements. Welcome and congrats to each of you!

📆 #HungerActionMonth is just around the corner! If you are looking for ways to get involved in building a world free from hunger, we've got the course for you! Join us for the Hunger Action Month End Hunger Challenge, starting Sept. 1 on our Zero Hunger Academy platform. Sign up today to save your spot. https://lnkd.in/eFNbzdQj

What's growing in your backyard? 🥬🥕🧅🍆🍅 Kyaka II refugee settlement in Uganda is home to over 130,000 people, primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi. As conditions become more crowded, fewer resources are provided to the refugees, and progress towards food and nutrition security has been stalling. But Leland #HungerFellow Kaila Balch, working with CARE International In Uganda, is here to report on measures to make backyards bloom with cabbage, carrots, “dodo” or Amaranthus, eggplants, onions, spinach, Swiss chard, and tomatoes. It's part of the Fill the Nutrition Gap program, which improves dietary diversity and provides a sustainable source of essential nutrients to small-scale women farmers participating in CARE's Farmer Field Business School. "While there is still a long way to go towards fully inclusive and resilient food systems, Fill the Nutrition Gap is one example of what can be done through local partners and enthused farmers, even in the face of displaced lives, limited land and funding, degraded natural resources, and food cuts," observes Kaila. https://lnkd.in/eghXjc8t

🎉 Congratulations to our newest class of #HungerFellows! We're so excited to see where your journeys will take you next!

ICYMI: Check out the capstone policy presentations from this year's class of Zero Hunger Interns. I learn something new every year from these presentations, which are a great reminder to us all that new generations bring valuable new perspectives and personal experiences to our workplaces, and we should be paying attention to what they have to say.

Join us online July 31, 2024 at 11 a.m. EDT as the Zero Hunger Summer Seminars conclude with final presentations from this year’s class of Zero Hunger Interns. The interns will share research focused on a hunger-related issue of their choice, providing recommendations for practical solutions for reducing food insecurity.

Today is #NationalInternDay! And we'd like to extend a very special shout-out to our fabulous 7th Class of #ZeroHunger Interns, now serving at their placements with hunger-focused organizations around Washington, D.C. We know that paid internships lead to employment after graduation and expand professional networks. That's why we're proud to offer the Zero Hunger Internship, which since 2018 has matched 90 campus food-security leaders with D.C.-based policy internships. In the words of 2022 Zero Hunger Intern Layne Johnson: "The Zero Hunger Internship exposed me to a breadth of knowledge and resources regarding anti-hunger policy and service. But most powerfully, it introduced me to a broad diversity of passionate and intelligent people, whether they were senior level, experienced professionals, or the other Zero Hunger Interns at my side. Each of these unique perspectives is critical to creating equitable, effective, and sustainable, change." Thank you, interns, for all your hard work this summer! The future is in good hands with dedicated leaders like you.

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The Hunger Center mourns the passing of the Honorable Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, who died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 74 on July 19, 2024. Rep. Jackson Lee was first elected to represent the 18th Congressional District of Texas in 1994, the same district once represented by Rep. Mickey Leland (1944-1989), and was re-elected to that office fourteen times. She served on the board of directors of the Congressional Hunger Center since 1996, and was a member of the House Hunger Caucus. “Congress has lost a champion for the rights of those who are often forgotten or left behind in policy making,” said Executive Director Shannon Maynard.“Rep. Jackson Lee was a tenacious defender of justice, and used her office to promote equality and an end to hunger and poverty. She has also been a tremendous supporter of our work through her service on our board, and her example has been an inspiration to many of our fellows and alums. We are grateful for the legacy of leadership she leaves behind, and our hearts go out to her family, her staff, and the residents of Houston who mourn her loss.” In the 118th Congress Rep. Jackson Lee served on the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on the Budget, and the Committee on the Judiciary, where she also served as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. She also served as Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Caucus, Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Caucus and Congressional Children’s Caucus, among many other leadership roles.