Local United Network to Combat Hunger

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The Local United Network to Combat Hunger (LUNCH) is an artist-powered hunger relief organization based in Mystic, Connecticut. It was founded in 1989 by Connecticut State Troubadour Bill Pere. Its main feature is the LUNCH Ensemble, a performing troupe composed of about 30 people in grades four and up. LUNCH follows the example set by singer-songwriter-humanitarian Harry Chapin in the 1970's.

1 History
2 Statistics
3 Hunger in Connecticut
4 Links

[edit] History

Chapin, a strong supporter of human rights and the anti-hunger movement, died in a car crash on the way to a concert on July 16, 1981. Eight years later, Pere, a fan of his, started planning an event to celebrate Chapin's legacy in 1991. Pere visited Fitch High School in Groton, Connecticut, to get some of the students involved in a play called "30,000 Pounds of Bananas".

The play was intended to be a one-time event. The students, however, enjoyed the activity so much they decided the concert should be the start of a series of performances to raise hunger awareness. Driving home that night, Pere developed the acronym "LUNCH" and the Local United Network to Combat Hunger.

Next, it was decided the new organization should have a logo. Six local graphic artists sketched their ideas, and the Fitch students voted on them. The winner of the vote, which is still the group's logo, depicts a circle with a line of music curved across the top half and the name "LUNCH" across the bottom. In the middle is a picture that resembles a hemisphere of the earth but, instead of continents, shows the outline of a child being fed.

In 1991, a group of kids in the organization gathered in Pere's studio to make the first LUNCH recording, "Give the Children a Tomorrow".

[edit] Statistics

The LUNCH Ensemble has involved over 2,000 kids in its events to date. It has raised over $500,000 to fund hunger and poverty relief efforts throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island, and anywhere else on earth that is in need.

[edit] Hunger in Connecticut

Connecticut is the richest state in the nation but ranks 44th in giving to charity. On any given night, 100,000 children, or 1 in 5, go hungry; 30,000 people sleep on the streets because the shelters are full.
(Facts provided by the Local United Network to Combat Hunger)