I. INTRODUCTION

A. What is the VACH?

On Thanksgiving eve, 1986 Councilmembers Richard Alatorre and Robert Farrell introduced a motion in response to a community based initiative by Campaign for Life which has led the effort for more than nine years to secure the adoption of a Los Angeles City Food Security and Hunger Policy.

The Volunteer Advisory Council on Hunger (VACH) was established by an act of City Council on August 4, 1989 at the recommendation of the Chairman of the Grants, Housing, and Community Development Committee. Ex-Councilman Robert Farrell and Steve Saltzman, of the Campaign for Life played instrumental roles in the VACH's creation. The action created a nine member council, appointed by the Mayor, the Community Development Department (CDD), and the President of City Council. Its responsibilities include the development, promotion, and coordination of a City Policy on Hunger; establishment of a clearinghouse for information; evaluation of existing resources and progress in solving hunger problems in the City; development of recommendations toward the eradication of hunger; and holding yearly hearings on the state of hunger in the City.

After the appointment of its nine members, the first meeting of the VACH took place in October, 1994, with consulting services provided by Cheryl Cromwell and Associates and Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition. CDD's Human Services and Neighborhood Development Division personnel have staffed the process. Since then, the VACH has held meetings on roughly a monthly basis. Its activities have centered around sponsoring six hearings held in the different Community Improvement Planning Areas during March and April, 1995, and the formulation of a hunger and food security policy.

The VACH is composed of nine members. They are: