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Top Chefs, Mom Bloggers, Churches, YouTube Foodies and ONE Members Highlight Global Hunger on World Food Day

WASHINGTON – From celebrity chefs and mom bloggers to churchgoers and YouTube stars, ONE members are mobilizing en masse around the country on World Food Day, October 16, to raise awareness of global hunger and malnutrition. These activities are part of a new campaign from ONE that’s calling on world leaders “to make measurable commitments to reduce chronic malnutrition for 25 million kids by 2016 so they can reach their full potential.”

As part of the campaign, supporters around the globe are celebrating the sweet potato, an example of a nutritious crop that can help fight chronic malnutrition. Every year, malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than 2.4 million child deaths – or more than one third of all deaths of children under the age of five. Chefs Mario Batali, José Andrés, Marcus Samuelsson, Spike Mendelsohn and Hugh Acheson are among dozens of celebrated chefs who will support the campaign by shining a spotlight on the humble sweet potato in the coming months.

ONE is calling on the public to send a mass, highly-coordinated ‘Heat Tweet’ at 12pm EST on World Food Day to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her to put global nutrition on the international agenda. (.@StateDept #SecClinton Create a #recipe4change. Put global nutrition on the agenda. 25mm kids are counting on it)

Already, more than 150,000 people have signed the Nutrition Petition at ONE.org asking world leaders to take concrete action on behalf of the world’s chronically malnourished children.  Everyone is also invited to submit their favorite sweet potato recipes at ONE’s Recipe4Change Cookbook.

Other World Food Day activities include:

Celebrity Chef Events in six cities across the nation include cooking demonstrations and tastings. All are free and open to the public:

  • ATLANTA: Chef Hugh Acheson at the Viking Cooking School at 11:00AM ET.
  • DENVER: Chef Hosea Rosenberg and former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter at the University of Colorado Anschutz Wellness Center at 9:00AM MT.
  • DES MOINES: Chefs Sean Wilson and Hal Jasa are at their restaurant, Proof, at 10:00AM CT
  • NEW YORK CITY: Chef Sam Talbot at the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE) at 11:00AM ET.
  • SAN FRANCISCO: Mom Blogger Amy Graff, Bakers Mindy Canner and Kate Kuckro, and Christine Pelosi are hosting an event at the ING Direct Cafe at 8:30AM PT.
  • WASHINGTON, DC: Chef Spike Mendelsohn at his restaurant, Good Stuff Eatery, at 11:00AM ET. In partnership with Africare and GAIN’s Future Fortified campaign.
YouTube Stars – Online, some of the biggest culinary stars of YouTube, such as Betty’s Kitchen, ShowMeTheCurry and The BBQ Pit Boys, are submitting videos with their favorite sweet potato recipes to the ONE YouTube Channel.
Faith Events – On October 14th, the Sunday before World Food Day, thousands of church congregants across the country began a six-week journey to learn how small farmers in Africa are lifting themselves out of hunger and poverty by reading and discussing The Last Hunger Season, a best-selling book by acclaimed author Roger Thurow.
Funny or Die – The comedy video website is getting the word out with a humorous look at the challenge of changing the world one sweet potato at a time. Meet Claude, the sweet potato intern in the nation’s capital.
ONE Moms (and ONE Mums) – Many of ONE’s most engaged members are ‘mom bloggers;’ women who use their extraordinary power to spread awareness of the fight against hunger, extreme poverty, and disease. This month, a group of influential ONE Moms and (ONE Mums from the UK) traveled to Ethiopia to see first-hand how smart, effective U.S. foreign assistance programs, are helping African families lift themselves out of poverty. Check out their remarkable journey at ONE.org/moms.