First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and 160 Congressional Spouses Volunteer...

First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and 160 Congressional Spouses
Volunteer for Feeding America at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC

Volunteer Event Takes Place on President Barack Obama's 100th Day in Office

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Feeding America is pleased to
announce that Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and approximately 160
Congressional spouses and children volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank
today in Washington, DC. Today's event will provide 2,000 bags of food for
hungry children in the DC Metropolitan Area who participate in the "Weekend
Bag Program." Each bag contains enough food for five meals -- enough food to
get a child through the weekend when they do not have access to school meals.
Approximately 200,000 children are at risk of hunger in the Washington, DC
Metropolitan Area. That is one in five children. Feeding America is the
nation's largest hunger relief organization and the Capital Area Food Bank is
one of Feeding America's 206 member food banks.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090429/DC08242-a)
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090429/DC08242-b)

Please see the attached images from today's event.

"The work that these organizations are doing is vital at a time when so many
people are struggling financially and needing to depend on food banks and soup
kitchens for their daily meals. I enjoyed working at the Capital Area Food
Bank today along with 160 of our Congressional spouses. I hope we will all
continue to stay involved whether it is by donating goods or volunteering our
time." - First Lady Michelle Obama.

"I can't think of a better way to spend this day than engaging in service
together to help those who need it most. I hope that our efforts today will
inspire more Americans to find ways to serve in their own neighborhoods and
communities." - Dr. Jill Biden

Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America said, "We at Feeding
America are so grateful to Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden and all of the
Congressional spouses for volunteering their time to help the 200,000 children
who experience hunger in Washington, DC. The commitment of these individuals
to help us bring greater awareness to the growing need of hungry Americans
could not come at a more critical time as millions more people turn to us for
help in these tough economic times."

INFORMATION ABOUT HUNGER IN WASHINGTON, DC

-- The Capital Area Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and last
year
provided nearly 24 million pounds of food to hungry people in the DC
Metropolitan area.
-- In the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, there are approximately
633,000
residents are at risk of, or experiencing hunger; that is 1 in 6.
(U.S.
Census Bureau).
-- The Capital Area Food Bank's Weekend Bag Program serves 1000
children each week at 24 sites in the metro area.

-- In 2008, calls to the Capital Area Food Bank's Hunger Lifeline, an
emergency referral system, increased 91 percent.

INFORMATION ABOUT HUNGERIN AMERICA

-- 36 million Americans, including 12 million children are living on the
brink of hunger.
-- Feeding America is the nation's largest hunger relief organization
and through their nationwide network of 206 food banks, Feeding
America
provides food to more than 25 million hungry Americans each year,
including 9 million children.

-- Feeding America reports that requests for emergency food assistance
are
up 30 percent on average across the country compared to a year ago.

Interviews with Vicki Escarra, CEO of Feeding America and Lynn Brantley,
president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank are available upon request.

ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA (Formerly America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food
Bank Network)
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to
survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief
charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans
each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the
entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies
that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can
fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit
www.feedingamerica.org.

ABOUT THE CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK
The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest, public nonprofit hunger and
nutrition education resource in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Each
year the CAFB distributes 20 million pounds of food, including 6 million
pounds of fresh produce, to over 700 partner agencies. The Capital Area Food
Bank was founded on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, January 15, 1980.

In addition to food distribution, the CAFB has several community-building
initiatives including Kids Cafe, Food For Kids, Face Hunger, From the Ground
Up, Sister Hook-Up, Produce for People, the Brown Bag Program among others.
For more information on how you can help in the D.C. Metropolitan area, please
visit www.capitalareafoodbank.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

FEEDING AMERICA
Julie Cloutier
Sunshine, Sachs & Associates
(212) 691-2800
Cloutier@SunshineSachs.com

CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK
Kasandra Gunter Robinson
(202) 526-5344
RobinsonK@CFoodBank.org

SOURCE Feeding America

Julie Cloutier, +1-212-691-2800, Cloutier@SunshineSachs.com, for Feeding
America; or Kasandra Gunter Robinson of the Capital Area Food Bank,
+1-202-526-5344, RobinsonK@CFoodBank.org