UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 13, Page 7                       
December 3, 1992                                       
Role of non-profits; Study looks at hunger and agencies dealing
with it                                                      
                                                       
     Hunger in Delaware is a vital concern for Karen Curtis, associate
scientist in the College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy. 
     She approaches the issue of hunger from many angles-as a scholar
and researcher, as a volunteer in two facilities that give or serve
food, as a board member of the Food Bank of Delaware and as the
creator of a training program for leaders of non-profit      
organizations.                                               
     She is currently conducting a study, "The Role of Non-Profit 
Organizations in Combatting Hunger in Delaware."             
     "My first priority is to establish the extent of the problem of
hunger in Delaware through research and to document the roles of
non-profit organizations, government and business in dealing with 
hunger," she said.                                           
     "There is an upswing in the number of individuals and families
requesting food and those who need help on a regular basis," she
said.                                                        
     When volunteer food programs and pantries were first established,
they were designed to meet emergency needs for people who were
undergoing a crisis, such as hospitalization, a fire, a job loss or a
public assistance problem, according to Curtis.              
     Now, during this time of economic problems, unemployment and 
budget cuts with an accompanying tightening of federal requirements
for food stamps and other programs, feeding the hungry is becoming a
more acute problem. Non-profit agencies frequently are being called
upon to help on a long-term basis, she pointed out.          
     The food business also has tightened up on its donations of food,
Curtis said. When the food industry first began donating surplus food,
it became aware of how much waste existed in the marketplace. Food
suppliers have taken steps to become more efficient, selling food in
bulk, in second markets and in stores other than grocery stores.The
result is less food available for donations, Curtis said.    
     Although historically many churches have operated food pantries,
one of the first organizations to create an emergency feeding system
was Lutheran Community Services. "They kept good records about their
clients, their sources of income, the reason for need and how often
they needed food," Curtis said. Through these records, Curtis can 
trace individual families and their needs over a period of years. 
     She also will interview key personnel in non-profit organizations
and carry out a random survey of food assistance programs. She plans
to gather data on what kind of assistance is offered, the number
served, the size of the staff and volunteers, sources of food and 
statistics about clients.                                    
     On-site visits and observation also are planned. Curtis is
especially interested in the social interaction between the diverse
clients and the role of dining rooms in the social life of   
communities.                                                 
     "Putting a human face on statistics" is one of the most important
parts of her research. Curtis will interview participants in food 
programs to find out how individuals and families cope with poverty,
what strategies they use for survival and how they interact with
relatives, friends, the neighborhood and with social service and
health care professionals.                                   
     Studies of this kind can be important on both the "theoretical
and practical levels," according to Curtis, in contributing data about
the causes and effects of poverty and how society deals with these
issues.                                                      
     Combined with research from other areas of the country, Curtis'
study can have an impact and help implement the Medford Declaration to
End Hunger in the United States, Curtis said. The Medford Declaration,
so called because it was drafted by a committee of national hunger
organizations at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., in 1990, calls
upon the country to eliminate domestic hunger by 1995 and to achieve
economic self-reliance for most American households by the year 2000.
     The first step in bringing this about, Curtis said, is research 
on hunger to know what the problems are, in order to advocate
effective changes.