[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 11, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FAST FORWARD TO END HUNGER

                                 ______


                           HON. TONY P. HALL

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 11, 1996

  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the efforts of 
``Fast Forward to End Hunger,'' a nonprofit organization dedicated to 
raise funds to eliminate childhood hunger. The Fast Forward to End 
Hunger initiative, which was launched on June 1 in nearly 8,000 video 
stores across the Nation, is expected to raise at least $2 million by 
the end of its first fundraising and education campaign on August 31.
  Fast Forward to End Hunger is an unprecedented collaboration between 
the Video software Dealers Association--the trade association of the 
$16 billion home video industry--and End Hunger Network, an 
organization founded by actor/producer Jeff Bridges that enlists the 
entertainment industry in efforts to end hunger worldwide. Leading 
Hollywood celebrities--including Jeff Bridges, Valerie Harper, Paul 
Newman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin Williams and others--have pledged 
their support to Fast Forward to End Hunger in order to help cut the 
number of children who wake up hungry each day.
  As part of its educational efforts, Fast Forward to End Hunger will 
be working to increase awareness about the dimensions of the problem of 
childhood hunger in our Nation among the 57-million-plus consumers who 
visit retail video stores:
  More than 21 percent of U.S. children under the age of 18, and 24 
percent of children under age 6 are poor--twice the child-poverty rate 
of any other industrial country.
  Hunger afflicts more than one in four American children. Some 4 
million children under age 12 in the United States are chronically 
hungry and 9.6 million more are at risk of chronic hunger--in all, more 
than 29 percent of American children.
  Even short periods of undernutrition can affect children's behavior, 
cognitive development, and future productivity.
  Children who are hungry are four times as likely to have difficulty 
concentrating as other children. And they are more than three times as 
likely to experience unwanted weight loss and are more likely to have 
frequent headaches.
  Eighty-four percent of Americans believe the Government should 
increase spending for food assistance programs, or at least continue 
them in 1995 levels.
  Some Americans polled felt that alleviating hunger and poverty is an 
important issue in the 1996 election year, according to a recent 
Nielsen poll.
  These statistics paint a sobering picture of the tremendous challenge 
we face, and I am pleased to welcome Fast Forward to End Hunger as an 
ally in our efforts to help Americans in battling childhood hunger in 
their communities.
  The Video Software Dealers Association and the End Hunger Network 
deserve praise for their ambitious efforts to eliminate childhood 
hunger, and I hope my colleagues will join me by becoming involved in 
the efforts of Fast Forward to End Hunger in their local communities.

                          ____________________