Simon Urges Holiday Help for IL Hungry

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published December 20, 2012 at 7:38 AM CST

Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon is encouraging residents to spend some time this holiday season helping curb hunger. Simon wants to highlight volunteering time, giving money or donating food to help children, seniors and families access nutritious food while the economy continues to recover. Earlier this week she and members of her staff volunteered at a food bank in Springfield, bagging apples for distribution. Simon says about 15 percent of Illinois residents are "food insecure." That means they don't have enough money to have a ready supply of nutritious food. For children, it's 22 percent of the population.

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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