Anti-Hunger Advocates to Governor Schwarzenegger: Let Him Eat Ramen

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The California Hunger Action Coaltion, an organization of local community organizations, non-profits, food banks, and low-income advocates, staged a rally and lobbying effort at the State Capitol yesterday. Some dressed in pea pod and kiwi costumes, the group encouraged Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to try and live off of food stamps for a week (approximately $4 a day) to see how the state's most impoverished residents live. "Poverty forces painful choices for too many California families and results in unnecessary hunger," former food stamps recipient Veronica Doleman said. "I ask the Governor to join us in recognizing the hardships these families face by trying to walk a mile in their shoes and survive on a food stamps diet for a week."

The CHAC's legislative priorities for 2007 are:

1. Increase Food Stamp participation to improve the nutrition of low-income Californians.
2. Support, fund and set measurable goals for state programs to end poverty.
3. Help children learn by improving the quality of school meal programs.
4. Fund programs and partnerships to increase healthy food access for low-income Californians.

See here for bills backed by the Coalition.