Staff from the Lubbock Field Office recently joined with other social services organizations, members of the local media and a local church as part of National Hunger Awareness Day, sponsored by America's Second Harvest.

Recipients of the free food gladly waited in line for a chance to end their hunger.

Hundreds of people were fed during the Hunger Fair in Lubbock, which featured food donated by a local Albertsons supermarket.

Similar events were held in communities across the nation, where people gathered to focus on the severe but solvable problem of domestic hunger and its impact on the nation's children.

"Hunger Fair", the celebration in Lubbock, was sponsored by the South Plains Food Bank and hosted by Broadway Church of Christ. Representatives from local media outlets served about 300 hotdogs with all the trimmings. HUD employees were on-hand to provide advice and information about buying and maintaining a home. Other local agencies provided information to people in need about community social services.

Through a network of more than 200 food banks and food-rescue programs, America's Second Harvest (www.secondharvest.org/) provides emergency food assistance to more than 23 million hungry Americans each year, nearly eight million of whom are children.