Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5311/-1/140/
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One Hundred Food Baskets For The Needy
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At a press conference held at the Chief Minister’s Office on Tuesday, October 16, 100 food baskets to be distributed for World Food Day 2007 filled the conference room.
World Food Day has been celebrated each year since 1979 and is observed by 150 countries worldwide.
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Invitees and speakers with food baskets
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The theme of this year’s celebration is “The Right to Food” and Chairman of the ceremony, Mr. William Vanterpool, Director of Agriculture, said “I hope that people will understand the right they have to food and safe food.” In one of his first official duties as the Principal Assistant Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, Mr. Kenneth Hodge personally thanked the four corporate citizens that donated money in the amount of USD $12,000 that went to the purchasing of a great deal of food.
National Bank of Anguilla, Social Security Board, ANGLEC and Scotiabank comprised the four major donors and all four representatives were applauded. Foster Rogers, Permanent Secretary Chief Minister’s Office, spoke on behalf of the Chief Minster who is currently away for some much needed relaxation and medical check-ups. Mr. Rogers too thanked the sponsors and encouraged all Anguillians to get involved to help the less fortunate.
The National Council of Women, represented by its president Ernie Hodge-Carty, was also intimately involved with the food baskets. Mrs. Hodge-Carty challenged the Government to adopt a “no child goes to bed hungry” policy. She also voiced her concern about the people starving in Haiti and proposed that Anguilla be the leader in sending a delegation of Caribbean leaders to assess the problem and come up with solutions.
Mr. Vanterpool read the World Food Day message:
“Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message on World Food Day, to be observed on 16 October:
“The right to food is a human right. Yet 854 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger, and the figure has been increasing since the beginning of the new Millennium. In a world of plenty, this situation is unacceptable.
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Food baskets for the needy
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“That is why the “Right to Food” was chosen as the theme for this year’s World Food Day. We must make the voice of these 854 million people heard. We must work to uphold their fundamental human right. We must recognize the role of human rights in eradicating hunger and poverty, and the connection between development, human rights and security.
“Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the right to food has been strengthened through legislative measures at the international and national levels. At the World Food Summit and in the Millennium Declaration, political pledges were made and reaffirmed at the highest level. The Food and Agriculture Organization has elaborated practical guidelines that provide coherent policy recommendations on how to bridge the gap between legal recognition and practice.
“And yet, progress towards eradicating hunger is slow. We need to do far more to place the integrity and rights of every human being at the centre of all our efforts. We need to combine current efforts with stepped up measures to ensure participation and empowerment, accountability and transparency, human dignity and the rule of law.
“The world has the resources, the knowledge and the tools to make the right to food a reality for all. On this World Food Day, let us join forces to make it happen.”
The last speaker was Sanford Richardson, Commissionaer of Social Development. He said, “what the Chief Minister’s contribution is today, is a daily struggle for us.” He mentioned that the criteria for receiving the food baskets were that people who are registered for assistance, or well known people who need assistance, would each receive a basket.