Members of the Tennessee General Assembly, the Governor's cabinet and the Supreme Court will join the state's constitutional officers and the Attorney General in a major effort to restock Tennessee's food banks. The "Campaign Against Hunger" event, which is sponsored by state lawmakers in conjunction with Outeach, Inc, will take place on Friday at 10:00 am in the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville. The group will package approximately 50-thousand meals for food banks serving all 95 Tennessee counties. Organizers say the event is timely as stock in the pantries is usually low after the holiday season.

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"As we prepare to tackle public safety, education and workforce development issues, it is important to remember that hunger is a factor," said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) who, as Chairman of the Council of State Governments last year, led national efforts to combat nutrition and food insecurity. "Food insecurity has been shown to be closely related to health problems, including an increased risk in the development of chronic diseases. It can cause impairment of psychological and cognitive functioning among children and studies show that those who are seeking employment can be negatively affected in their search for work if they, or their family, are hungry. We hope that this project is only the beginning of widespread support by the public for addressing hunger in our state, which not only positively impacts the lives of individuals, but of our state as a whole."

"On behalf of the 400,000 neighbors struggling with hunger in Middle and West Tennessee we would like to thank Senator Norris and the Tennessee General Assembly for their generosity in hosting this unique food packing event," said Jaynee Day, President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Tennessee. "This past year, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee increased the amount of food distributed to over 28 million pounds, which was a 40 percent increase. However, we still have a growing number of children, families and seniors at risk of hunger and thanks to this event we will be able to provide more nutritious meals to those that need it the most across the state."