he even called our schools "insidious" and "socialism." as families struggle to raise their kids, to provide a good education, harmer bragged, "we can design a plan to dismantle them." david harmer is just too radical. we need jerry mcnerney. protecting local schools from devastating cuts. he's a moderate, endorsed by the stockton record, the independent, and our local teachers. i'm jerry mcnerney, and i approved this message. @@ state budget cuts are crippling my classroom, so i can't believe the sacramento politicians cut a backroom deal that will give our state's wealthiest corporations a new billion dollar tax give-away, a new handout that can only mean larger class sizes and even more teacher layoffs. but passing prop 24 can change all that. prop 24 repeals the unfair corporate give-away and puts our priorities first. vote yes on prop 24, because it's time to give our schools a break, not the big corporations.

welcome to beyond the headlines, i'm cheryl jennings, weeck we focus a different topic. today's show is going to discuss an issue that affects many people who live in the bay area and beyond, and that is hunger. how we are all affected by hunger and listen to people. but a unique partnership was formed in the east bay. lisa amin gulezian has the story. >> at park place restaurant this cupertino, happy hour is a big draw, but the dining room isn't the main attraction, managers are trying something new this weekend. park place will be the first

restaurant to host the taste of compassion for $24, diners will get a two-course meal and the nonprofit west community services will get half the proceeds. >> that will help fund and hunger prevention services. it's a nice way to provide food for the community by people coming up to get food themselves. >> the restaurant expects the partnership will bring little financial payoff at first. >> it's a way for us to get recognition and do additional advertising. >> they already have ten restaurants lined up to participate. >> they host it for two days a month and then rotate to cupertino to los gatos and san jose. thousands are campaigning on this for their own survival. >> if it wasn't for the west valley community center i would still be on the street.

>> they need to raise $150,000 for two programs. a mobile shelter for men and a food pantry. >> stress, a lot of stress. it will impact me but i'm looking at the next person, their life has been turned around. >> that help is coming one meal at a time. lisa amin gulezian, "abc 7 news." >> we are joined by susan bateson and allison and i want to thank you so much for being here. it's so important to talk about this. you don't want to speak think of the health coming up -- but susan i know it's a big challenges? >> one of the biggest challenges is that more people are coming to the food banks requesting assistance. we're a little stretched. we're finding that many families have been disen franchise had

with job logs and we're struggling to keep up with the pace of the new customers. >> what are the kinds of people coming in for assistance. >> sadly are number one customer in the bay area is the child. children are the most affected by the problem of hunger and working families because having a steady acheck is no problem against the problem of hunger. >> let me ask you a few things, for some 49,000 people. >> each week. >> it's astonishing so many people are in need. what kind of programs are out there? >> there are many programs. the alameda county food bank is committed to meet the immediate need either by providing a bag of groceries or a hot meal but also longer transitions, as well. one of the most effective

programs is the food bank program. the food program is under utilized throughout the bay area and california. we think a lot of people don't know they qualify for this program. there are a lot of misconceptions about the food stamp program. >> is there a stigma, too, of people have to get over that? >> i think people need to find out all the information about the program. the paper coupons no longer exist. and food benefits are deposited on a debit card and so it's undetectible at the register. >> nobody is going to know. >> you were talking about the kids because some of the kids need help. you have to look food differently for the kids because they need different nutrition? >> bay area food banks are very focused on nutritional foods and

most we've distributed is fresh fruits and vegetables. there is children and on the other hand there are senior citizens. these are two groups that benefit from fresh fruits and vegetables. >> and it has to be an educational process, too. >> they are available in low income communities but what is not available in low income communities is fresh fruits and vegetables so it's been fabulous focus. >> is there other things they are focusing on? >> we're always looking at the federal food programs and make sure they are accessible and adequately fund for the need. beyond food stamps we're focused on the reon norization of child nutrition -- reauthorization of the programs.

and increase in investment so more concern can be receiving a higher quality meal. things like school lunches and school breakfast, these are so important because for many children, it may be the only thing they are eating that day and wouldn't it be great if they were eating fresh. >> and how does it affect everybody? >> times are tough right now. every day, people are calling us for the very time. they've never reached out for help before of any kind. you know, we know that families are making difficult choices, choosing between paying their rent or paying their food. and a lot of families are working and they earn too much but not enough to pay their bills and put food on their table. so hung ser directly impacting a lot of people but it indirectly impacts all of us through decreased productivity.

>> how can everybody get involved. we want to do something about this. >> we need to end the problem of hunger. we can all get involved by making the contribution to our bay area food bank and investment in bay area food bank is a solid one. for every dollar in community support we're able to provide many dollars worth of food. this is a great time to volunteer and wonderful way to learn about action. >> you both are great. thank you, we want partners with you. >> when we come back the reverend cecil williams and his wife will join

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welcome back. today we're talking about hunger. joining us in the studio is the reverend cecil williams and janiskatani from glide memorial church. it's good to see you here. we also meet under special circumstances but how bad is the situation right now. >> we want to meet every need possible, especially those of people who really find it difficult to make ends meet. the fear of crisis we're always

facing has to do with hunger, of course. for us to talk about hunger is to talk about how long our lives are this year. >> does it seem longer than ever. >> there are nor jobless and tremendous increase. people are not working. i looked the other day and i saw a number of people dressed who undoubtedly had been looking for jobs, but they had to have food so here they come. our line extended more and more. then, of course, there is always the families that we find in great need. this is the time if we're really going to deal with hunger, this is the time to do it. this is why it's so important that you and others invite us to let the word get out the great

need we're facing at this time and it's hunger and it's very serious. >> janice, the population is changing and it's always been at the forefront? >> it's been over 40 years, nutritious meals. we're not a soup kitchen. we don't like to be categorized that way because we do four meals. just as an example, the lines have increased. they have increased over 200,000. in august which is usually slower month, we had 91,000 meals were served in august. >> i can't even imagine that. it's just growing. >> and the population change. >> people are looking for jobs.

you don't stereotype, people that are lowellless or desperately in need. they look well dressed but the growth of seniors, we're serving over 8,000 meals a month to seniors and that number sin creasing by 21%. >> those numbers of shocking. >> yes. >> we're looking at very vulnerable population. >> why do you think people turn to glide? i know i've been there many times but it's safe and you welcome them. >> i think that is part of them. it's very safe. it's how you treat people. whether they feel welcomed, they feel like you care. if you really care, you show it. that is what we are trying to do. we see people as human beings. we see as those just like us and we find our way with each other. we welcome people with open

arms. we really participate what we call unconditional love and acceptance. >> and other thing i find in this program, you don't give people a hand but a hand up but do other things. >> we have 87 different programs. we have a wonderful clinic. unfortunately the lines have grown there, too. we have visits a patient visitsa year and there a clinic. we just don't provide primary care but mental health care and recovery programs. >> we have 30 seconds left. how can other people get involved? >> volunteer. give money. help us out. come see us. grocery, whatever you have. >> and the holidays are particularly a time of crisis so we could really use all the help

we can get. >> we will see to it that folks will get involved. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> we do have to take a break. when we come back, what it's like to eat just on $4.50 a day. [ female announcer ] the sweet moments package is baby blue. calming. tranquil like the sky. but look within and you will find exploding baked chocolate indulgence. coated with sinfulness. oozing with decadence. ooo! observe the dainty birds and tiny curly cues. but look within you will find primal forces of chocolate. instantly satisfying every iota of yearning. new pillsbury sweet moments, brownie bites and bowls. in the refrigerated section.

welcome back to beyond the

headlines. joining us in the studio is the president of united way. i want to thank you so much for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> one of the things we wanted to talk about something you did called hunger action week and trying to feed a person on 4.50 a day. >> that is actual allocation with food stamps. we challenged people. eat on 4.50 a day for a week, the week of september 20th and see what you can actually buy, what you can eat with that. the result, not surprisingly was not a nutritious menu from those folks. >> what did they buy? >> a lot of ric, pasta, breads, not a lot of meat and when you look at the costs, not a lot of fresh produce. certainly nothing organic.

produce very expensive it turns out. i compared some of the prices that i was shopping when i took the challenge to what i had bought the week before. i realized i had spent nearly two dollars on a single piece of fruit. you can't do that on 4.50 a day. >> so if you are in that economic group where you can't do it it's really hard. >> food stamps are meant to be supplemental. they are supplemental knew trishlgs system. they are not meant to fully fund anybody. but the problem is two-fold, what we have to be working on is the long are term issue of moving people to self-suffici they don't require food stamps but in the meantime, we need to get more people making use of the federal program. in santa clara county alone, we have $140 million in federal food stamp funds on the table because people don't take advantage of that because they

are intimidated by the fingerprint requirement, which california is one of the very few states to impose. they find that a quarterly reporting burdensome, which california is one of a few states to impose. so we look at all the opportunity to help people. >> tell about the united way project because i know they are involved in so many good things? >> food access is one of the critical issues. we feel very strongly that people need to use their voice to help solve this. hunger is a solvable problem. first, we can provide food for folks that literally need food on the table tonight. in santa clara, 14,500 kids suffer from chronic hunger. which is ludicrous in one of the most wealthiest counties in the country. but the longer term solution is

to help families with programs that eliminate the need for that kind of food assistance. what we would really like to do is be able to help people self-sufficiency so they don't need to go to the food pantry and ultimately don't need the food stamp assistance. that is what we're working. >> tell me about something in the interim, measure "a". >> knew industries about health and particularly the health of children is critical to the long-term success. it's part of education and being able to ultimate liquor be a self-sufficient individual. on the ballot in santa clara county this fall. voters have the opportunity to ensure that children, all children in santa clara county have access to health coverage which will allow them to get preventative medicine and with but the kids that don't need assistance already have. it's critical that voters pass

measure "a" in santa clara county. >> and you're talking about people getting involved and being an advocate. what can we do? >> congress adjourned early without reauthorizing the program that must be reauthorized by september. you can call your congressman and tell them, reauthorize the child nutrition act. tell your state representative and state snrgs that food stamp fingerprinting and quarterly reporting is burdensome and that we could join the majority of states in in nation and make it easier to take advantage of those programs, get those federal funds into the communities and benefit our economy, not to mention hundred people. >> is there a way to find it on your website? >> absolutely, uwsb.org, there

is a food access and lots of way people can get involved. >> we can do that. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> once again we do have to take a break. when we come back, the boy scouts of america will be here to talk about starting a food program. you're watching beyond the headlines. we'll be right back. it's great. i eat anything that i want. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ...yeah, every night its something different. oh yeah yeah...she always keeps them in the house. no no no, i've actually lost weight... i just hava high metabolism or something... ...lucky. [ wife ] babe... ♪ umm, i gotta go. [ female announcer ] over 30 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. yoplait, it is so good.

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issues and unfortunately hunger is an ongoing problem. today we've talked about the many ways the bay area is fighting this epidemic. right now we are joined by michael diebeck and michael from boy scouts of america. i think your program is just awesome. what is going to happen. >> scouting for food is the largest cooperative community service put on by the boy scouts of america. nine boy scout ounls will join forces on november 20 to collect food in support of local food banks. we hope to collect over million cans of food this november. >> we know the need is out there. >> how many years have you been doing this? >> i've been doing this since second grade, many years. >> why is it important to you? >> i think the community

awareness and people can benefit from this food. >> what are you asking people to do? >> we hand out flyers but it's all canned goods and boxed goods things that won't perish. >> have you noticed that people are really contributing to this? >> yes, definitely. >> yes, and some people don't know what it is and we talk about what it is. but a lot of people want help. >> michael, what happens if they want to participate and they don't get a flyer? >> they can donate their food to a local community food bank, it might be a fire station that is collecting food. they can go to the boy scout website which is scouting.org, find their local council in that area and find out how they can help. >> why has this cause been taken up by the boy scouts?

>> we've been working on it for 20 years and it's the largest cooperative, tension of thousands of scouts and volunteers and parents will get together on one day and help the food banks. >> i think it's fantastic. do you think other kids should get involved? >> but it's going back to community awareness, it's needed out there. even if they can't help out certain things they can help out at local food bank or shelter. >> i we've been talking about it during the show, if you have never been hungry or you don't know anybody, you need to get the message across. >> i think this program is wonderful way to do that. scouts like michael who learn the importance of giving back to the community and community services and the exposure of collecting this food, taking this down to the food bank and helping to sort the food is a real a great long benefit for young men and women to learn the

importance of helping people at all times. >> it's made me a lot more aware. i think, especially kids and teenagers, they go through their lives and don't think about it. when you help, you really think about giving back. >> if you haven't been hungry, you can't imagine. >> exactly. >> so do you try to recruit other kids. >> tell them and hope they get involved, if they want the help out. this is a need especially in the bay area. >> all right. thank you both michael and michael. >> it will take a difference. >> and we are out of time. i do want to say a special thanks to all of our guests today. information about today's show is on our website at

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