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Worcester State College Press
Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hunger Addressed by Internationally Recognized Author WSC’s Intergenerational Urban Institute celebrates 10th year (Worcester, MA – March 10, 2004) In 1971, a 27-year old college student at UC Berkeley launched a revolution in how the world thought about world hunger, personal dietary choices and democracy by writing a book. At the time, Frances Moore Lappe´ (la-PAY) had no idea that Diet for a Small Planet would become a three-million-copy bestseller and awaken a whole generation to the social and personal significance of their food choices. She has gone on to write thirteen additional books that have been used in hundreds of colleges and universities in more than 50 countries. Lappe´ will speak at Worcester State College (WSC) at 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 24 in the Blue Lounge of the Student Center as part of the Intergenerational Urban Institute’s 10th Anniversary Forum. With concerns growing over genetically modified organisms and the impact of corporate globalization, Lappe´ teamed up with her daughter Anna to write the sequel, Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet. Published in February, 2002, Hope’s Edge is in its third printing and is third on the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller list. Lappe´ is co-founder of two national organizations addressing hunger and the roots of democracy including the Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First). She has received 16 honorary doctorates and in 1987 was the fourth American to receive the coveted Right Livelihood Award, often called the alternative Nobel Prize. In 1990 she co-founded the Center for Living Democracy, a ten-year initiative that helped make visible and therefore accelerate the spread of democratic innovations in which regular citizens contribute to problem solving in all dimensions of public life. She was recently a visiting scholar at the MIT, where she completed Hope’s Edge. Lappe´s lecture is being sponsored by WSC Intergenerational Urban Institute (IUI), the Center for the Study of Human Rights and the Honors Program. During its tenth anniversary year, the IUI is focusing on ending hunger in Worcester and Central Mass, and through forums raise awareness that there is real hunger in Worcester, and that something can be done about it. Twenty years ago, a new state law stipulated Massachusetts citizens 60 and over should be eligible for free tuition at all the state colleges. Since that time the WSC has reaped many benefits from being an age-integrated campus. The IUI was established to channel the talents of college students of all ages to meet the challenges that face an urban environment through volunteer service to the community. In addition to Ms. Lappe´’s lecture, the IUI has several 10th Anniversary Forums planned. On Thursday, April 15th, from 11:30-1 p.m., the IUI Forum will be “Medicare: An Intergenerational Issue.” On Tuesday, April 27 the IUI Forum will be “Celebration of Service Across the Ages” with guest speaker, Sharon Leahy-Lind, director of Women’s Health Initiative for the State of Maine. All Forums will be held at 1:30-4 p.m. in the Blue Lounge, and are free and open to the public. For more information call the IUI at 508-929-8900. Ms Lappe´ has a website at: http://www.diestforasmallplanet.com ###
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