AFRICA / USA: The United Nation's World Food Programme has named Drew Barrymore Ambassador Against Hunger

Record ID: 453239

  • Title: AFRICA / USA: The United Nation's World Food Programme has named Drew Barrymore Ambassador Against Hunger
  • Date: 17th May 2007
  • Summary: MORE OF DREW BARRYMORE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DREW BARRYMORE, AMBASSADOR AGAINST HUNGER FOR THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, SAYING: "I am honoured to be here and as I learn I want to work hard and continue to fight the good fight for all the means that are necessary to keep this going so I encourage people to write to their senators and congressman for this bill. It's a wonderful bill there must be money to enable this world food program to do what they do and it's an honour to be doing this part of the work as well. And I thank you so much for coming you guys."
  • Embargoed: 1st June 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Entertainment,Social Services / Welfare
  • Reuters ID: LVA8HDDN5H73G4FMFGGC0GX2CPM3
  • Story Text: American actress Drew Barrymore, one of the world's most recognised film stars, has been named Ambassador Against Hunger for the World Food Programme, it was announced on Wednesday (May 10).
    Barrymore, 32, who recently returned from a second trip to Kenya to visit WFP-supported school feeding projects, joins world marathon record-holder Paul Tergat, from Kenya, as Ambassador Against Hunger.
    Barrymore and Tergat, a former school feeding recipient, will focus their advocacy efforts on school feeding programs.
    "I am honoured and humbled to accept this challenging and rewarding assignment," Barrymore said Wednesday. "I can't think of any issue that is more important than working to see that no schoolchild in this world goes hungry.
    Barrymore joins Tergat and WFP's Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, in Washington this week to raise awareness about school feeding - and also advocate for passage of draft legislation in the US Congress that would expand and regularise funding for US-supported school feeding programs.
    The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, authorized in the US Farm Bill and administered by the US Department of Agriculture, feeds millions of schoolchildren each year.
    Pending legislation would increase funding from the current average of 100 million U.S. dollars (USD) a year, to about 300 million USD a year within five years.
    In 2006, WFP fed 19.4 million children in 71 countries through school feeding programs.
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