Last night at a community-wide event in downtown Los Angeles, I sat down with an unlikely cast of dining partners including students of Para Los Niños Charter School and their families, colleagues from the Jewish Federation, members of the Chrysalis program, and other guests. We shared in the pure magic of an evening where Angelenos of all races, languages, and religions came together to celebrate Sukkot.

The event was the brainchild of Andrew Cushnir, Associate Executive Vice President of The Jewish Federation, in partnership with Gisselle Acevedo, President/CEO of Para Los Niños. The program included many distinguished guest speakers, but the highlight of the evening occurred when the 3rd and 4th graders from Para Los Ninos and Heschel Day School took the stage together and sang songs in English, Spanish, and Hebrew. Led by song leader Cindy Paley, the children were the expression of unity, hope and peace in our community. They sang from their hearts with their faces aglow.

I was surprised at how many emotions the event evoked in me. As part of the Fed Up With Hunger initiative, I felt joy and frustration, gratitude and guilt as I ate a healthy portion of fajitas, salad, and churros. While many of us eat what we want, whenever we want, with whomever we want, I was reminded yesterday of the harsh realities of hunger and poverty here in Los Angeles. 1 in 8 people, over 1 million Angelenos, face hunger every day!

But, I was also reminded of so many heroes in our community that fight this fight every day. And at the end of the evening, I felt hopeful.

Congratulations to the teachers of Para Los Niños and teachers everywhere, who continue to educate our children, nurture their souls, and feed their stomachs. Please think about volunteering and/or donating. Trust me when I tell you how worthwhile the experience of getting involved is. Last night, those kids gave my life meaning!

Rabbi Mark S. Diamond, Milken Community High School’s Wendy Ordower and Los Angeles Federation Diller Teen Lindsy Seidel discuss hunger.

More than 150 Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other faith leaders met Tuesday under a sukkah, a traditional Jewish hut, to vow to work together to put an end to hunger in Los Angeles.

Clergy noted that though the goal of eradicating hunger sounds overwhelming, the collaboration of faith communities can make even the most difficult endeavors attainable.

“All movements – against slavery (and other injustices) – all looked romantic and quixotic – but through sheer hard work, people like you and me transform what was impossible into what is possible,” Shakeel Syed, the Executive Director of the Islamic Shura Council, told the crowd gathered at The Jewish Federation Goldsmith Center in Los Angeles. “Now is the time to end hunger.”

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Yesterday, October 6, over 150 faith leaders, hunger aficionados, volunteers, and students gathered at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to participate in an Interfaith Hunger Summit. Staff & students from Santa Margarita Catholic High School shared their experience with us in the following letter:

Thank you for sponsoring and organizing yesterday’s Interfaith Hunger Summit, as well as for allowing our high school students to participate fully in the Summit’s activities. From the moment you met us at the bus and whisked us into the sukkah, our students felt affirmed as young adult leaders.

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Andrea Sonnenberg (right), board member of the Para Los Ninos Charter School and Jewish Federation member, taught Para Los Ninos 4th graders about Sukkot in preparation for the Fed Up With Hunger Cross-Cultural Sukkah Event tomorrow, 10/8.

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Our Recommended Reads come to us from hunger guru Matt Sharp over at CA Food Policy Advocates. Today’s pick is part of a collection we’re calling “Factors that Cause Hunger.” We’ll be tweeting these reads too, so follow us @GiveLifeMeaning.

Census Data Show Falling Income

By Kate Linthicum and DeeDee Correll
September 30, 2009

Reporting from Los Angeles and Denver – In 2008, the median household income in the United States plummeted 3.6% from the year before, and the percentage of people living in poverty soared to an 11-year high, recently released U.S. Census data reveal.

Economists say the bleak news — which they blame on the slew of layoffs that have accompanied the economic downturn — is significant, if not entirely surprising.

Excerpted from the LA Times. Read more >>