FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, November 4, 2013

Peace Corps Engages Students in the Fight Against Hunger

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 4 – Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are raising awareness among students on campuses nationwide about efforts to fight global hunger and poverty, and sharing information about how students can engage through the Feed the Future Campus Food Security Tour. Each tour stop includes presentations by leaders in international development and agriculture; open forum discussions; and a sustainability fair featuring local organizations, campus groups, and academic departments focused on food security and sustainability.

The tour will visit Virginia Polytechnic University – an institution at the forefront in addressing global food security – on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the Old Dominion Ballroom at the Squires Student Center at 6:00 p.m. The event will be co-hosted by Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development, which is home to two innovation labs designed to address issues of hunger and poverty through science and technology.

The campus tour kicked off at the University of California, Davis earlier this year and visited the University of Georgia in October. In the coming months, the tour will visit Colorado State University, Michigan State University and Oregon State University. All of the universities are home to innovation labs and collaborative research programs that are the result of a unique partnership between U.S. universities, developing country institutions and USAID.

Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative. Led by USAID, it leverages the strengths and resources of 10 federal departments and agencies. Peace Corps plays a unique role in Feed the Future by taking important food security messaging and practices to the grassroots level. Learn more about Feed the Future here, and learn more about Peace Corps’ food security projects here.

For more information about the Feed the Future Campus Food Security Tour, contact the Peace Corps press office at [email protected].

About the Peace Corps: Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961, more than 210,000 Americans have served in 139 host countries. Today, 8,073 volunteers are working with local communities in 76 host countries in agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth in development. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment and the agency’s mission is to promote world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries. Visit www.peacecorps.gov for more information.

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