Jeff Bridges to Launch Campaign Against Childhood Hunger in National Press Club Address

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Nov 05, 2010, 06:00 ET

Oscar Winner Tackles New Role to Rally State and Volunteer Support, Nov. 10

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Academy Award winning actor Jeff Bridges, spokesman for the Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign,™ will unveil a state-by-state strategy to end childhood hunger in the United States by 2015 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Nov. 10. Bridges is recipient of the 2010 Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the film Crazy Heart.

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Bridges will outline the No Kid Hungry Campaign™ plan to close the childhood hunger accountability gap by increasing enrollment in federal food and nutrition programs. He will announce the launch of No Kid Hungry Campaigns™ across America that seek to include governors, mayors, nonprofit partners, those that have experienced hunger, state agency leaders, private funders, and the culinary, business and faith-based communities. Share Our Strength describes the NKH campaign as a non-partisan, cost-effective approach to enlist private funders, public officials, and nonprofit groups to create plans with measurable goals to end childhood hunger at the state and local level.

"Ending hunger is not a mystery," Bridges says. "By building on successful federal programs like the school breakfast program, our nation's hungry children can get the food they need to perform well in school and stay healthy. Childhood hunger in America is a hidden epidemic that robs children of the opportunity to grow up healthy and learn well in school, but we see an end in sight. This is a problem we can solve."

Bridges, 60, has been a leading advocate for global hunger issues and in 1983 he founded the nonprofit End Hunger Network to combat hunger around the world. The charity now focuses its efforts on raising awareness through the media and generating public action to end U.S. child hunger. Nearly 17 million children in America – almost 1 in 4 – struggle with hunger, according to a 2009 U.S. Agriculture Department report.

Bridges will be joined by Share Our Strength Founder and Executive Director Billy Shore. Over the last 25 years, Share Our Strength has raised more than $280 million and provided funding to more than 1,000 community organizations working to end childhood hunger. For details, go to www.strength.org.

Bridges, who appeared in The Men Who Stare at Goats and Iron Man will star in the upcoming 3D, action-adventure TRON: Legacy and in the holiday release of True Grit. Mr. Bridges earned Academy Award nominations for his roles in The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Starman, and The Contender. Among his film credits are The Big Lebowski, Against All Odds, Jagged Edge, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Tucker, and King Kong.

The November 10 Press Club luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Mr. Bridges' remarks will begin just after 1:00 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. Advance reservations should be made through (202) 662-7501 or [email protected]. Cost of luncheon admission is $17 for National Press Club members, $28 for their guests, and $35 for general public. The Press Club is on the 13th floor, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Credentialed press may cover this event. To submit a question in advance, type BRIDGES in the subject line, and email it to [email protected] before 10 a.m. on November 10.

About the National Press Club

Known as "The Place Where News Happens," the National Press Club has more than 3,500 members, including journalists from every major news organization. Each year the Press Club hosts more than 250,000 visitors at more than 2,000 events and provides a global forum for prominent figures in government, industry, athletics, and the arts. For more information, go to www.press.org.

SOURCE National Press Club