Hunger

Bob Stambaugh has spent the first Sunday of October the same way for 31 years. Rain and a chilly wind wouldn't deter him from participating in the CROP Hunger Walk this weekend. “I don't want to give up at 86,” said Stambaugh, of Chambersburg, Pa. Bundled up and tucked beneath umbrellas, a few dozen people representing 14 churches gathered outside the Waynesboro Area YMCA prior to the start of Waynesboro's 40th annual CROP Hunger Walk. The Rev. Robert Cook, who helps organize the event, asked them to consider contacting their friends and fellow churchgoers for additional donations in coming weeks because of this year's decreased turnout for the fundraiser.

Is drinking water the cure for the nation's obesity epidemic? Not likely. But a new study has found that drinking a couple of glasses of water before meals can help people consume fewer calories. There's long been a lot of folklore about water helping people lose weight. And previous studies have found that people who drink water regularly consume fewer calories during meals. But there's been little actual, good research on the subject. Enter Brenda Davy. Davy, of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, along with her colleagues, decided to conduct what they said is the first well-designed study to actually show that water consumption is a good weight-loss strategy.

It's not supposed to happen in the United States of America. Not in a country with million-dollar neighborhoods, designer wardrobes and super-sized menus. Childhood hunger exists in other places - distant lands devastated by droughts, famine and disease. But throughout Washington County, hundreds of children live in homes without enough food. They are part of families where a steady job no longer guarantees a week's worth of groceries; where financially strapped parents face choices they never imagined and the stigma attached to asking for help persists.

In my experience, the biggest obstacle that people encounter when reducing calories for fat loss is hunger. When starting a calorie reduction plan, the first few weeks are absolutely critical to success. That's all well and good, but when hunger strikes, it can be really easy to lose focus — and control. Here's how to stave off hunger, and ensure success when reducing calories: 1. Don't skip breakfast. If you do, you'll be starving and cranky by mid-morning. A breakfast with complex carbs and low-fat protein will help stave off snack attacks.

Kelley Seiler, left, coordinator of Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive at the Hagerstown Post Office, and Danny Gossard, warehouse manager of Food Resources Inc., load onto a truck Monday food that was collected Saturday.

The Washington County Council of Churches has announced the schedule of activities to raise awareness and money to fight hunger through Church World Service/CROP and for local food banks for 2004. You can be part of the solution by biking, walking or skating this year. Last year, CROP events in Washington County raised $35,000 for hunger and emergency relief aid around the world and here at home. Twenty-five percent of money raised by CROP activities stays here in Washington County and last year money from Church World Services/CROP was used to provide emergency relief in Maryland after Hurricane Isabel.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Bob Stambaugh spent last week soliciting businesses for donations and handing out 137 letters telling people about the CROP Hunger Walk. He explained how money raised would go to feed the hungry locally, nationally and globally. He talked about projects to dig wells and plant gardens so people in Third World countries can find self-sufficiency. "It's also used in emergencies like (Hurricane) Katrina," Stambaugh said. Stambaugh, 83, participated in his 28th CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday.

What to make on a night when time is short and hunger is high Dinner in a jiffy It's not easy to juggle all the demands on our time, but planning meals can be a little easier if we have a game plan in place for the days when we're under the most pressure. Here are some tips: 1. Try to allot 15 or 20 minutes a week to set up menus. Balance recipe choices with your schedule, planning to serve more complicated dishes when your calender is free of appointments and more simple meals when it's full.

THURMONT, Md. - When Spence Watson saw Sheri Wilner's play about a newly engaged woman torn between her fiance and a mysterious lover, he fell in love with it and knew it would be an ideal piece for a one-act competition. The mysterious lover, who appears out of the sea, "appeals to (the main character's) repressed desires and feelings of self-worth, to lure her to come out in the ocean with him because he loves her also," Watson said. Watson is directing "Hunger" for Thurmont Thespians, who will present the play this Friday and Saturday at St. John's Lutheran Church Social Hall before taking it to the Maryland State One-Act Play Competition the following weekend in La Plata, Md. The play is about the pull of real love versus a mythical love affair, said Watson, of Sabillasville, Md. "Hunger" premiered in 2000 at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

Wanna skate? The CROP Walk for Hunger will sponsor a skate-a-thon, Saturday, Sept. 30, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Starland Roller Rink. For information and registration forms, call Bob Hyssong at 301-491-0785. There will be a Christian skate night at Family Skating Center, 17333 Virginia Ave. in Hagerstown, Monday, Oct. 2, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Admission is $2 plus skate rental. Regular skates are $1, speed or in-line skates are $2.50. There will be top 40, Christian and praise music, games, contests and prizes.

The Myersville Area Growing Project of Foods Resource Bank will kick off this year's Growing Project with a Hunger Awareness Meal on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Christ Reformed United Church of Christ in Middletown, Md.  The community is invited to share in the meal, which will provide a representation of the reach and effects of hunger in the world.  Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups, established in proportion to the...

More than 9,500 FFA members, advisers and guests took part in the FFA Rally to Fight Hunger, which was Oct. 24 to 26, in Indianapolis.  One million meals were packaged in 20 hours, with half of the meals staying in the Indianapolis area and half going to Haiti.  The rally was a highlight of the 85th National FFA Convention and Expo.  Working with Kids Against Hunger, a humanitarian food-aid organization, FFA members from across the nation...

Many take it for granted that the refrigerator will be stocked with plenty of food for dinner and there will be milk ready to pour over the family's morning cereal. But for thousands of Franklin County, Pa., residents, the cupboards are bare. For American Legion Rider member Joe Cocco of Chambersburg, Pa., that is unacceptable. So, he gathered American Legion Riders from across the county and organized a 75-mile Food Pantry Ride to benefit South Central Community Action Programs' six county food pantries, each of which was visited by the riders.

In my experience, the biggest obstacle that people encounter when reducing calories for fat loss is hunger. When starting a calorie reduction plan, the first few weeks are absolutely critical to success. That's all well and good, but when hunger strikes, it can be really easy to lose focus — and control. Here's how to stave off hunger, and ensure success when reducing calories: 1. Don't skip breakfast. If you do, you'll be starving and cranky by mid-morning. A breakfast with complex carbs and low-fat protein will help stave off snack attacks.

On May 12, Hagerstown letter carriers and letter carriers throughout Washington County collected money and nonperishable food from postal patrons on the nation's largest one-day food drive titled “Stamp Out Hunger.” The local community donated 18,000 pounds of food for Food Resources Inc. and local food banks. Rockland Woods Elementary School made a big contribution as the students collected 874 cans of food under the direction of Principal Kathy Stiles and teacher Katie Rubeck, the daughter of rural carrier Becky Madsen.

It's not supposed to happen in the United States of America. Not in a country with million-dollar neighborhoods, designer wardrobes and super-sized menus. Childhood hunger exists in other places - distant lands devastated by droughts, famine and disease. But throughout Washington County, hundreds of children live in homes without enough food. They are part of families where a steady job no longer guarantees a week's worth of groceries; where financially strapped parents face choices they never imagined and the stigma attached to asking for help persists.

There are hits, there are blockbusters, and there are Event Movies. “The Hunger Games” is an Event Movie. It is such an Event Movie that it was playing on 10 screens at midnight at my favorite theater and six were sold out when I bought my ticket at 8 p.m. It is such an Event Movie that numerous people went to the midnight shows in ridiculous costumes that wouldn't even be visible in the dark theater. It is such an Event Movie that there was a news van parked outside the building and reporters were swarming to get audience reactions after the show was over.

Hagerstown resident Talor Treece, 12, said she skipped school Friday to see the movie, “The Hunger Games,” at Leitersburg Cinemas with her dad, Ed Treece. “It has such a good plot to it,” Talor said. “I really wanted to go to the midnight showing.” The movie, which premiered at midnight Thursday, earned $19.7 million from overnight showings, according to the Associated Press. Talor said that she is a fan of the books on which the movie is based and is in the process of reading the third book.

One man at the Bridge of Life community dinner on Christmas Eve described his holiday situation this way: “I'm right next to homeless and hungry,” said the man, who declined to give his name. He went on to say he has been out of prison for six months, and times on the outside have been tough. The hungry part was satisfied, at least for the time, for that man and about 200 other men, women and children who showed up at the church for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and other trimmings, and plentiful desserts.

One of the technology students of the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County has been selected as a winner in a national technology contest. Cheyenne Fairfax, a member of the Pennsylvania Avenue unit, participated in the "Picture This!" game design contest and has been selected as one of 10 winners nationwide. Myclubmylife.com's The Game Channel, along with the support of the AMD Foundation, challenged teens to think big, make change and have fun through the contest.   For the "Picture This!"