PROVIDENCE, R.I. — March 15, 2000 — To raise awareness of the hunger struggle in America, the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America will release personal, anonymous comments to show the many faces of the hungry nationwide. Here is the first such comment: “When I was a youngster my parents divorced. Times were tough and my mom worked two jobs to support us. Somehow there was just never enough money to go around. We were lucky when we got to eat oatmeal for all three meals. I also remember going behind the grocery stores after they closed and getting into the dumpster searching for food that the store had thrown away. My mom took it home, cut off the bad parts, washed it and that helped our food supply. If I can save one child from having that happen to them or going to bed hungry, then my mission is completed. Thanks for listening.” The comments have been gathered from concerned people around the globe who have electronically signed the Feinstein Petition to End Hunger. Alan Shawn Feinstein’s petition to Congress and the president asks them to make a commitment to ending hunger in America. The Cranston philanthropist says he will continue the hunger petition drive until Congress and the president respond to the will of the people. The URI Center is in strong support of the petition and urges people to sign on today at www.uri.edu/ or www.feinsteinfoundation.com/. Anyone accessing the sites can also send a free meal daily to a hungry person with just one click. Anyone without access to a computer can get a petition by calling the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger-Free America at 277-5450. “It’s a disgrace that in the greatest country in the world, there are 30 million people who experience hunger or worry about where their next meal is coming from. The current explosion in wealth in the U.S. has not altered the hunger problem. It has remained the same over the past 15 to 20 years. People at the bottom of the economic ladder are not benefiting from the booming economy,” says Feinstein. Visitors to the URI petition site are invited to share their stories about why hunger issues are important to them to help put a face on the issues of hunger and heighten awareness to the different hunger problems around the globe. The URI Hunger Center was established in 1999 as a partnership between the University of Rhode Island and the Feinstein Foundation to move the issue of hunger to the forefront of America’s consciousness. It aims to end hunger first in Rhode Island and then around the globe. -xxx- For Further Information: Jan Sawyer, 401-874-2116