Recognizing the growing demand on area food pantries and homeless shelters the Area Agency on Aging District 7 (AAA7) will host a hunger summit. One of the goals of the summit is to get local officials focusing on hunger issues and how it can be reduced.

According to recently released U.S. Census Bureau figures, nearly one in six people in the United States is living in poverty. Those same figures revealed nearly 1 in 4 kids deal with food insecurity everyday.

According to information provided by AAA7, “in 2010, more than one in six Ohioans were served by emergency food assistance between July and September. Of those, more than a quarter-million were Ohio elders. In December of that same year, 19.8 percent of Ohioans reported that there had been times in the past 12 months when they did not have enough money to buy food that they or their family needed.”

The official poverty rate for the U.S. in 2010 was 15.1 percent. According to the Census Bureau; the poverty rate is the highest its been since 1993.

Ohio’s Poverty rate is 15.3 percent.

“In the 20 counties that we serve, 1 in 4 kids are food insecure, which means they do not know where their next meal is coming from, and that’s very disheartening,” said Kurt Reiber, president of the Freestore Foodbank of Cincinnati.

The summit will address hunger issues in Scioto, Pike and Ross counties.

Attendees can learn about recent policy decisions and how they impact hunger in the local community; network with other local and statewide organizations and learn more about the programs they provide in an effort to address hunger in our area; and have the opportunity to share with others about the programs that your organization features and helpful ideas as others start similar programs to end hunger among older Ohioans.

The summit will be from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Oct. 31, at the Pike County Health Department, 14050 U.S. Route 23, Waverly.

For more information, call 740-286-4918.