On our last couple days of programming for World Food Week, Link TV spoke with co-founder of FoodCorps, Curt Ellis. Want to get inspired and spread the word about taking real action in communities around food justice? Read this interview. And continue to visit our food page for "Hungry Planet" airtimes, to watch programs online, and to learn more about these critical issues.

Hello Curt, thanks for joining us. Could you tell us a little bit about FoodCorps and how your organization specifically works to fight hunger?

FoodCorps works with a network of young leaders around the country in a kind of Peace Corps for healthy school food. Our service members teach children about healthy food and where it comes from, build and tend school gardens that help kids to grow and cook healthy food themselves, and work with school food service staff and local farmers to bring high-quality food into school lunch. Taken together, these three things -- knowledge, engagement and access -- address two big problems at once: childhood hunger and childhood obesity. It sounds paradoxical, but those two problems are closely linked. Kids who don't have reliable access to healthy food don't get a balanced diet, and all too rarely get reliable access to healthy fruits and vegetables -- so food insecure populations are often the ones with the highest rates of both hunger and obesity. As we see it, school is the best place to start fixing both these problems: 32 million children eat roughly half of their calories 180 days of the year in school. In helping to make that food fresher and healthier, we're setting kids on a path out of hunger and into lifelong health.

Food Corps does a lot of work with youth. What do you think the importance of working with youth around this issue is?

We have a serious health crisis in this country, and it's directly related to the food we eat. Studies show that the relationships we build with food -- healthy or unhealthy -- start in childhood. Children who are eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, as children will grow up to be adults who eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. And, likewise, children who grow up being served fast food in their school cafeterias will feed their own families' fast food someday. If we help kids understand from an early age that healthy food tastes good, that it's fun to grow and prepare, that it makes you feel good, and that it doesn't have to be out of reach financially, we can put powerful and positive change into motion.

What would you say are the current root causes or main factors that contribute to hunger both within the United States and globally?

Unfortunately, much of the food that is seen as affordable in America -- fast food, processed food -- is also some of the least healthy. So we have a shocking number of people in our country who are simultaneously obese and malnourished. Until we have solved problems of access to fruits and vegetables, whole grains and high-quality protein -- both in terms of physical access and financial access -- we'll continue to have these problems of hunger and obesity.

As I see it, if that solution is going to start anywhere, it's going to start in our schools. My grandparents' generation made an important decision: that the children in our country should have lunch in school, so we can be sure they all have an opportunity to get at least one healthy meal a day. Now, with the addition of school breakfast and after-school snack, school food is even more important than it was a generation or two ago. But the food we're serving kids these days looks all too much like fast food, and too little like carrots. We need to change what's on the lunch tray and make sure the tools we're using to fight hunger -- like school lunch -- are really solving the problem they set out to fix.

What do you think are the most pertinent problems in the food industry today?

For a long time, the food industry -- and its consumers -- prioritized quantity over quality. I applaud the efforts to give all people access to an abundant food supply, but I think we took that ideal too far. It's hard to think of anything more important than food, yet we don't treat food, or farmers, with the respect they deserve. I think the food we produce and consume as a nation should have integrity. It should be grown and processed in an ecologically sustainable way, by farmers and workers who are compensated fairly, it should be safe and healthy for people to eat, and it should be accessible to all -- even the least fortunate members of our society. I think those are standards that are important to uphold for something as fundamental as the food we eat. And if we live out those ideals, hunger won't be a problem anymore. Diet-related disease won't be a problem anymore. We won't see Florida tomato growers getting brought to trial on charges of slavery in the fields. And the soil we depend on will continue producing high-quality food for eons to come.

What are the advantages of eating locally grown foods?

Locally grown foods are fresher, so in most cases they'll taste better and be more nutritious to boot. Vitamins are fragile, so vegetables that are trucked long distances can lose half their nutrient content! Also, sourcing locally grown food keeps a huge amount of money in the local economy, and the reduction in transportation reduces greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on oil. In some ways, though, I think the most important thing that comes from eating locally is the sense that food comes from somewhere. That it's grown by someone. And that's a reminder that those people and places matter.

You've also co-created a few documentaries. Can you give our readers a synopsis of those films and how they relate to food?

Before joining the effort to start FoodCorps, I got to collaborate on a few films that explored the food world. I worked with Ian Cheney and Aaron Woolf on a documentary called King Corn, which was about a year we spent in Iowa growing an acre of corn (well, an acre of corn syrup and corn-fed fast-food meat, as it turned out). I worked with those two again on a follow-up to King Corn called Big River, which explored the ecological consequences of modern agriculture. And then I helped Ian make a film about the wacky and amazing people who are bringing farming into urban places. That film was called Truck Farm, and it starts with a project we did planting a vegetable garden in the back of an '86 Dodge Pickup. You can find the first couple films on Netflix, and the third on Amazon.

How can people help alleviate hunger both on an individual and societal level?

That's a big question, and if it could be answered in a paragraph I think someone would have done so already. But I'll highlight a few things. On the individual level, I think it's important that we learn -- and help others learn -- how to grow and cook healthy, affordable food. During World War II, home gardeners were producing more than half of America's food. There's no reason we shouldn't be planting our window boxes and truck beds and vacant lots in healthy, high-quality, incredibly affordable food. On the societal level, we have some powerful building blocks for creating a healthy food environment for all. The national school lunch program is a powerful place to start. If we use that existing program as a way to make sure all children in America grow up having regular access to real, healthy food, we'll go a long way toward solving hunger in America.

What role does independent media play in raising awareness about these issues?

The mainstream media has really embraced food as an important issue in the last decade, and that's been great to see. Unfortunately, before that, I think they were missing much of the story, and it was independent outlets that were the first to highlight the way that food shapes our environment, our health and our sense of justice and equality.

What changes do you hope to see in the next 50 years?

Most importantly, I'd like to see us reverse the present statistic that this generation of children is the first that is likely to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. In fifty years I hope we have healthier children: children who feel connected to their food and have an enduring and healthy relationship with it.

I hope we can come together as a nation around the simple belief that food is important. That it's important enough that no child should go hungry. That it's important enough that it should be produced responsibly, sustainably, and ethically. That it should be available to all. If we can do that, I'll feel pretty good about our ability to solve some of the other tough problems we're facing as a society.

How can someone get involved in your organization or work?

For young leaders, the best way to get involved is to apply to become a service member in FoodCorps; applications for next year's class will be available this winter. For everyone else, if you support FoodCorps with a financial contribution, no matter how small, you can help us meet our goal of expanding our program into all 50 states by 2020. With your help, we can make sure more than a million kids are eating healthy, high-quality school lunch every day.

A message from Link TV's President & CEO, Paul S. Mason:

Like all of you, I have watched the tragedy of famine as it continues to threaten the lives of millions in the Horn of Africa. I've watched and read the news reports, and I've followed the efforts of humanitarian groups and governments as they supply aid to millions of people in need. And now, as we prepare to recognize World Food Day on October 16, the urgency is particularly acute. The world is in a recession, and extreme weather patterns -- drought and more -- will likely increase. Status quo will not be enough to avert further crises -- we must do better.

In recognition of this global crisis, Link TV has teamed up with international relief and development organization, Oxfam America, to produce a half-hour documentary special that examines possible solutions to famine and hunger around the world:

ViewChange: Africa's Last Famine features the story of an Ethiopian farmer, Medhin Reda, and interviews with Francis Moore Lappé, humanitarian, activist and bestselling author of Diet for a Small Planet. The show takes a hard stance on food justice and disputes the notion that famine is simply caused by a lack of food in the global supply. According to Moore Lappé in the documentary, "the world produces more than enough for all of us to thrive...the real crisis is the crisis of human relationships, how we share in power."

I hope you will join us in watching the show online or on Link TV, in spreading the word to others, and in joining Oxfam America's efforts to end global hunger. Please sign Oxfam's pledge and click here for more information about what you can do.

Sincerely,

Paul S. Mason
President & CEO, Link TV

View online:
OxfamAmerica.org or ViewChange.org

Watch Tuesday, October 18 at 11pm ET/8pm PT
DIRECTV Channel 375 | DISH Network Channel 9410

Follow us @LinkTV
#AfricaLastFamine

In this next addition to our World Food Week blog series on key people in the field tackling hunger, we talked with Tekiah Jones, a 17-year-old High School Student from Washington DC. She works as the New Media Producer on a campaign called Revolution Hunger. Link Media is working in partnership with Revolution Hunger to engage teens and their communities around hunger and malnutirition at home and around the world. Continue to visit our food page for "Hungry Planet" airtimes, to watch programs online, and to find out what you can do.

Hi Tekiah, thanks for being a part of this interview! First and foremost, how did you first learn about this issue of hunger?

It was actually through Revolution Hunger. I had seen the position online from a friend, so I applied for it, but I didn't know much about hunger. I remember seeing commercials with children in Africa with flies on their face, but that's all. I didn’t know much about it, and didn't learn about it until I joined the campaign.

You are a part of this campaign, Revolution Hunger. Can you tell me a bit about it?

Revolution Hunger is a campaign that is trying to get more teens involved in bringing awareness about world hunger, and hunger here at home. We are really dedicated to trying to get people involved and dedicating their future careers to helping to solve it.

What is your role in the campaign?

My role as New Media Producer is to really expand out the mission and vision of Revolution Hunger, (we in the DC area -- District of Columbia, Virginia, Marylan) -- and to reach teens in schools, and in our community using new media and online tools. We are using social media to get the word out, especially because that's where young people are at. I also work with the Regional Coordinator and we do some outreach projects together, like organizing a youth team in DC, attending events, and doing in school presentations. I write blogs and do things that are online, to really reach out to people and show them what we’re doing, though the new media age.

How do you think new media can impact and engage teens in learning about this issue?

To me, all teens are on their phones and the computer at some point in the day. All of our networks are on the new Android or EVO, and people are on Twitter or Facebook, so the best way to really get to teens is to blog and Tweet and get on their Tumblr accounts. I think that when you use something that teens go to every day, that's what will maximize our impact. When the Tsunamis hit a couple years ago, people weren't talking about Twitter, but people on Twitter were the first to talk about it. I think New Media can take organizing to a new age, and it already is. It's so much more accessible to click on a link. It helps teens get more involved, and allows them to learn about something new. Even in our school, we don't hand in paper assignments, we send them online. With so much online, you don't have an excuse not to be involved. With Revolution Hunger, we are trying to get kids engaged both online and then to get off their computers and go do something positive.

How can teens get involved?

Go to revolutionhunger.org and create an account! Teens can start educating people about hunger, blogging about it themselves, and make it a trending topic. When you start getting into it it, really consumes you. When you know that every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger, that's a big thing. The ways that teens can get involved is starting up a club at their school to bring awareness to global issues and hunger. Really just educating each other about it. Not enough people really know about it yet, or care about it. Going up to your friends and talking about it, wearing t-shirts from our campaign, or re-Tweeting our posts help a lot. I have so much more knowledge about the issue. To me, it seems so much greater than the presidential debate.

What is your vision for the future?

For the campaign, I wanted to go viral like the Trevor Project. I would have expected it to start, we're later in the year. I wanted people to be like "have you heard about this campaign?", or one of those things where people are like "are you going to that event today? I want to help out." I really want people to get involved in hunger. People are living off absolutely nothing and don't have anything to eat. We make a big deal out of a new Walmart, but there are people starving.

I want to see lots of people involved. I want to see it on the Ellen show. I want it to go viral so badly. I want people to see it and see the pretty colors and really get into it, into Revolution Hunger. But more then that, make a life long commitment to stay involved and do your part.

What do you hope to see in your community and around the world?

In my community, I hope to see more people getting along with each other, and less hungry people. I want everyone to get along in the different quadrants. There's all this hatred, gang violence, people getting shot or stabbed, fighting in high school, and poverty. I want people to understand we have bigger issues than what hood you're from or who said what at lunch. We have some many bigger problems in DC alone, like hunger or our education system. I want to really be one of those communities where everyone helps each other out.

In the world I want the same things on a bigger scales. Like the wars, people don't know about each other's cultures. I want people to get to know about different world religions and cultures. Different cultures. I want everyone to be a part of fixing social injustices. Hunger is one of those. I really want everyone to just love everyone, to love humanity. That's my wish, that's what I want.

This week on Link TV, we are airing a week of programming uncovering various global perspectives on food. Visit this page for airtimes, to watch programs online, and to find out what you can do. In addition, we are interviewing key players and partners who work around issues of hunger and food justice. In today’s report, we interviewed Jane Sung E Bai, Director of National Programs for Slow Food USA.

Thanks for doing this interview, Sung E. First and foremost, can you tell us a bit more about what Slow Food USA does?

Slow Food USA is part of a global, grassroots network with supporters in 150 countries who believe that food and farming should be sources of health and well being for everyone and for our planet. In the US, Slow Food USA brings people together through food, organizes them to improve their local food systems, and garners that power to change legislative policies that shape our food and farming system. Slow Food USA has more than 250,000 supporters, and 25,000 members working together in 225 local chapters.

What are a few programs you are currently working on with Slow Food USA?

We are currently developing a campaign to ensure that the next reauthorization of the Food & Farm Bill (the single largest piece of legislation that shapes our food and farming priorities) in 2012 protects and invests in the efforts of those working to make food sustainable, healthy, accessible, and affordable.

While our chapters are running diverse projects to raise awareness and to change people's relationships with food and farming locally, we are specifically supporting local efforts that are focused on improving children's relationship with food (both in and out of the classroom), as well as on providing alternatives to industrial agriculture (e.g. fast food). Such efforts were illustrated by our recent $5 Challenge campaign to take back the 'value meal,' and are part of our long-standing work to promote and to protect plant varieties and animal breeds that are under the threat of an increasingly homogenized food system. We provide resources, trainings, and other forms of support to those already doing this work, and to those interested in initiating a project.

As our network of supporters is sizeable and has varied interests, we regularly run activities that raise awareness of the challenges of our current food and farming system, provide opportunities for individuals to come together with others (especially through eating and growing food), and inspire people to take collective action.

Can you describe what the "Good, Clean, and Fair" Movement is?

Good, clean, and fair refers to food that is good for us, good for those who produce it, and good for the planet. Slow Food USA believes that all are vital to our vision for a different food and farming economy. Workers must be paid fair wages, farmers need to sustain themselves and their families, all people have a right to food that is good for them, and we all have a responsibility to protect our natural resources.

What is the importance of eating "Good, Clean, and Fair" food over factory farmed foods?

There is a correlation among the growth of factory-farmed foods, decreased income for farmers, stagnation/decline of wages, surge in diet-related diseases, and continued damage to our climate and ecosystems, among other socio-economic problems our society faces. Rather than supporting farmers to grow biodiverse non-GMO crops, grass-fed animals, and sustainable practices, factory farming has unfortunately become the solution to feeding people who cannot afford good, clean, and fair food, as well as those who can! This contributes to the massive healthcare costs of nutrition-related illnesses, the contraction of family-run farms and jobs, increased greenhouse gases, and dwindling diversity of food sources -- just to name a few consequences.

We are what we eat. And what we eat is based on the economic and political priorities of government and corporations. Unfortunately, the health of people and our environment is not the priority right now. And it needs to be the number one priority.

Slow Food USA believes that we need to reshape the story of food and farming so that it is one that we can feel proud of and we can be sustained by. Our organization's story includes producing food humanely, treating workers fairly, increasing job opportunities, adequately compensating farmers, preserving (rather than depleting) natural resources, and appreciating food traditions of diverse cultures and communities.

What would you say are the current root causes or main factors that contribute to hunger both within the United States and globally?

The UN has found that the number one factor leading to hunger is access, whether to land for growing or to income for purchasing. The issue is not innovations in farming or distribution. Rather, it is an issue of poverty. In order to eradicate hunger we have to eradicate the root causes of systemic poverty.

Rather than seek to elevate solutions to hunger through supporting communities to grow food and earn a living, the drive often seems to be towards 'cost efficiency' and 'profit.' There is an invisible expense to this drive. Investment in genetically modified foods means a divestment in the livelihood and health of people -- food is not just about nourishment. Food is part of a larger ecosystem, which includes working the land to grow the food that feeds us. We need more farmers, not just more scientists. Study after study shows that we as a global community can in fact produce enough food to feed the world. We produce more than enough food for every human being, yet 1/3 of all annual food production is wasted. We need solutions that are based in values of human dignity, health, and well being.

How do you feel can people help alleviate hunger both on an individual and societal level?

On an individual level, we need to have the awareness that we are all part of the problem, and part of the solution. This means that we need to reflect on our own practices: How are we living? Sharing information (with our children, families, and friends)? Reducing waste? And, how are we supporting the survival of those who are seeking to address hunger? What can we do to volunteer or support (through money or in-kind donations) those organizations that are dedicated to eradicating hunger? You can dedicate a patch of your own garden to a local soup kitchen or volunteer to tend a community garden plot whose produce is donated to a food bank. Get involved in gleaning projects. Reduce waste.

As a society, we must first embrace the responsibility to be part of the solution. Then, we need to make a choice to start doing something with the intention of supporting the eradication of hunger. Each act contributes to the possibility of a greater motion of change.

What role does independent media play in raising awareness about these issues?

Similar to the way that our food system is structured -- largely controlled by a handful of corporations -- so is our media system. This has meant that we are hearing the same stories again and again through mainstream media, and they are sometimes skewed to uplift the interests of those who benefit from the current food system the most. Even as 'healthy living' and 'eating healthy' has taken center stage due to both grassroots activism and political interests, they are conveniently absorbed, and repackaged by the same corporations who contribute to a broken system. What is too often ignored are the root causes for why it is so hard to have access to affordable good, clean, and fair food. It is only through independent media that everyday people can hear other sides of the story -- the stories of those who are most impacted by a broken food and farming system, the stories about root causes. And as people become more aware, they are able to act from a more informed and powerful position. And as more people act, mainstream media will be more compelled to cover such stories.

What changes do you hope to see in the next 50 years?

In 50 years, my daughter will be 54 years old. I hope that she is part of raising a next generation where every day, every child in this country and around the world has a belly full of healthy food that comes from the calloused hands of farmers and workers who are able to live sustainably and peacefully. I hope 54 is the new middle age because domestic and global priorities have shifted to pool together resources and knowledge to eradicate poverty and human-made illnesses. I hope that farming and working in the food chain are embraced as dignified and valuable work. I hope that food continues to be the common ground for breaking bread and building relationships across difference.

How can someone get involved in your organization or work?

First, go to our website -- www.slowfoodusa.org -- or call us at 718-260-8000.

Once you have signed up to receive our communications, you will be able to find a meal to attend or a garden to volunteer at. If you do not find one in your local area, host a meal with some friends or start a conversation about the food system in your community. We also have a fast growing and active Facebook community, blog readership, and Twitter following. If you are interested in doing work related to children and food or alternatives to processed foods, please do not hesitate to contact us and join a community of volunteers who do this work locally across the country. You can also get involved in our national campaign around the 2012 Food & Farm Bill to improve legislation that shapes our food and farming system. By becoming a member, you can join a chapter, start a chapter, and/or keep up with the latest food news; obtain tips on cooking slow food, gardening and buying local; and start advocating for better food for all.

More about Jane Sung E Bai: After 25 years of racial and economic justice and immigrant rights organizing, she embraced food justice when she enrolled her daughter in a daycare that serves low-income children. Dismayed by the Board of Education-provided meals, Sung E made a commitment to prepare her daughter’s breakfast and lunch everyday and to work towards improving access to nutritious food for working people. Along with being the executive director of a community-based organization for almost 12 years, Sung E has held teaching appointments in higher education, been a certified advocate for domestic violence survivors and trainer for grassroots organizers, and served on various leadership bodies of local and national organizations. She believes in the power of everyday people making change every day.