[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   FROM THE WHOLESALER TO THE HUNGRY

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I recently learned of a new and 
innovative end hunger program achieving success in Chicago. The name of 
the project is: The Produce People Share; a produce reclamation effort.
  This project, a collaborative effort of the Greater Chicago Food 
Depository and wholesalers at the South Water Market, reclaims more 
than 50,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables each week. The 
produce is then distributed, free of charge, to hundreds of agencies 
serving people in need.
  This is a remarkable effort on the part of all involved. In fact, the 
program began in Los Angeles as the brainchild of retired wholesaler 
Mickey Weiss. What he noticed was a large percentage of produce, 
edible-but-not-sellable, was being wasted on a daily basis.
  Hunger and poor nutrition are shockingly widespread. These conditions 
sap the vitality of children in school, weaken people's abilities to 
perform in the workplace, and undermine the lives of the elderly. Tens 
of millions of Americans suffer inadequate diets and the serious 
consequences to public health that result.
  I applaud the efforts of those in Chicago and across the Nation 
involved in this worthy project. Hopefully, this will entice more 
people in the food industry to become involved in the circumstances of 
those in need.

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