Well before the school year ends for American children , advocates like USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Stacy Dean and Hawaii-based consumer advocate and substance abuse counselor Zahava “Zee” Zaidoff are planning how to feed kids over the summer. “The experience of hunger, in and of itself, is a terrible thing. But hunger amongst children is so much more devastating... They don't need food just to maintain, but also to grow and thrive,” says Dean. Many layers of government, organizations, and individuals are ensuring that kids get access to meals during the summer months. “This is not just about the kids that we're trying to feed. This is about - fortunately and unfortunately - systemic change that has to happen around the entire system,” Zaidoff emphasizes. 
 
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Stacy Dean and Zee Zaidoff on Fighting Summer Hunger

Every other Wednesday, “Add Passion and Stir” shares the inspirational stories of individuals who set their sights on a problem and use their strengths to create solutions. Hosted by Share Our Strength’s founder Billy Shore, a leading advocate in food justice for 40 years, we convene leaders from the worlds of hospitality, education, government, and beyond tackling issues like hunger, systemic racism, and access to education. Join us to learn how you can share your strength. Follow us on Twitter @AddPassionStir and Instagram @billshore and like us on Facebook.

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Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion, talks about how his nonprofit is providing access to financial systems for people all over the world who currently do not have access to tools like bank accounts, loans, or digital financial transactions. “Two billion people are left out of and poorly served by the global financial system. Their lives are so much harder than they have to be, and we're trying to change that,” he says. Advances in technology like satellite imaging have made it possible to reach many more business owners. “I think this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ moment, and we're trying to seize this moment to really change the world,” he believes. 
 
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Accion’s Michael Schlein on an Inclusive Economy

Mayor Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Mayor Mattie Parker of Fort Worth, Texas are Chair and Vice-Chair of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, a bipartisan alliance of almost 400 mayors from across the country.  “I think the first thing that the Alliance capitalizes on is a firm understanding that the most powerful thing Americans can use is their bully pulpit to any cause,” says Mayor Parker.  Mayor Broome agrees. “There are a lot of best practices that we can hone in on and we can work together to advocate for legislative measures at the federal, state, and local levels.”  Listen in to learn about some innovative ideas that have already been shared among the mayors in the Alliance and how these initiatives are reducing childhood hunger in their communities. 
 
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Mayors Broome and Parker on the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger

India’s children are hungry. Gauri Devidayal, Co-Founder and Director of The Food Matters Group, and Pankaj Jethwani, physician and Executive VP at W Health Ventures, are working to solve that problem. Devidayal is using her platform to draw attention and funding to the cause while Jethwani is helps run holistic nutrition programs.  “I think India's one of the greatest nations when it comes to hospitality. It's just something that comes innately to people,” says Devidayal. “That's ridiculous, as a child, to go through eight hours in the morning before a first meal and still expect to learn, still expect to thrive,” Jethwani believes. “We've served 400,000 children. It's a drop in the ocean. It's not even a drop in the ocean - it's a micro-drop in the ocean.” 
 
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Gauri Devidayal and Pankaj Jethwani Fight Child Hunger in India

Charles Watson, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Café, talks about how the restaurant industry is uniquely positioned to make a difference on child hunger. “The American consumer is demanding and one of the things that they're demanding - which is good - is purpose,” says Watson. “[They’ll] give you their money… but [they] also want to see that you're giving back and that you're doing something positive.”  He proposed a "CEO Pledge to End Hunger" which aims to raise funds to support summer food programs, potentially preventing millions of children from going hungry. “We need sunshine, we need happiness, we need taking care of one another,” he concludes.  
 
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s Charles Watson on Preventing Child Hunger

Jamila Robinson, the new Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appétit, discusses her vision for the magazine and more broadly how food can be a powerful force for good in the world.  “I'm very curious about how other people experience food and how food drives culture for other people, and that curiosity allows for other people to feel seen, and so it also changes the way that we approach stories,” she says.  She wants the magazine to cover food culture for everyone along with sustainable food practices. “I do think it's important that we think about where our food comes from, who's producing it, and the impact that it might have on our environment.” 
 
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Stacy Dean and Zee Zaidoff on Fighting Summer Hunger

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