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Fighting Hunger In Vermont

Governor Jim Douglas headlined a gathering that drew a full house representing a partnership of public and private entities on a mission. The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger hopes to get more eligible Vermonters signed up to receive food stamps.

Rep. Richard Westman, who chairs the Vermont House appropriations committee and serves on the board of the Hunger campaign, says participation in the food stamp program dropped 36% in the late 1990s. He and others supported a state appropriation that has grown to $100,000 to be applied to matching federal funds to promote greater participation.

Five years ago Vermont tried to draw more people into the program by issuing debit cards instead of the old paper food stamps. The cards cut down on fraud and made food stamp purchases the same as other credit transactions. Still, less than one half of Vermonters who qualify are using food stamps today.

Out of a total population of close to 615,000, over 42,000 Vermonters are using food stamps. Almost 45,000 more are eligible but NOT receiving food stamps.

The Campaign to End Childhood Hunger has produced a video showing how children are not getting the nutrition they need, especially in poverty areas. State health commissioner Paul Jarris says, "Studies clearly show that kids who are hungry don't absorb information as quickly and their problem-solving abilities are decreased. So we're setting these kids up for failure."

Not only children suffer. Experts say obesity, which has been on the rise, is largely caused by bad nutrition. "Because even obese people can by hungry," Jarris says. "But the foods they're eating, the calories they're getting, are often not from appropriate foods or nutritional food sources."

The food stamp promotion includes a new web site on the Internet containing information -- including how to tell if you qualify (www.vermontfoodhelp.org). The message is that the more people take advantage of food stamps, the better off Vermont as a whole will be.

Andy Potter, Channel 3 news.