The Oak Ridge Observer (Reproduced from page 16)

Russian leaders visit Oak Ridge to learn about food banks.

Four Obninsk Russian leaders participating in the Open World Program will spend Nov. 10-18 in Oak Ridge and
Knoxville examining the “Second Harvest Food Bank: Hunger Relief Concept.”  Obninsk is a Sister City with Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization will host the delegation.

A community-wide reception welcoming the delegates will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the
Cheyenne Ambulatory Center conference room located at 944 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The reception is being co-sponsored by
Methodist Medical Center. Coffee and an assortment of light desserts will be served.

Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, Open World is designed to enhance
understanding and capabilities for cooperation between the United States and the countries of Eurasia and the Baltic States
by developing a network of leaders in the region who have gained significant, firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and free-market system.

The goal of the program is to adapt the existing Oak Ridge/Knoxville based food bank concepts to Obninsk and potentially
other Russian cities and regions that would like to start a similar program for feeding those in need in their areas.
America’s Second Harvest Food Bank program addresses the problem of domestic hunger by distributing donated food and
grocery products to low-income people who might otherwise go hungry. The program recycles properly processed foods from local resources, such as grocery stores and restaurants, thus saving the food that otherwise would have been wasted.
“Second Harvest Food Bank: Hunger Relief Concept” project will help delegates from Obninsk create hands-on tools and ideas to establish a food bank in their city. To achieve this goal, Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization will partner with a local multi-county food bank, Second Harvest. Employees of the food bank will share operations and the history of their success with the Obninsk delegates.

Second Harvest will also sponsor one of the meeting dinners to help in the funding of the program. In addition, during various workshops, seminars, and events, organized within the scope of the program, the delegates will meet and interact with numerous individuals working in the field of food banking, which will facilitate future collaboration and exchange of ideas.

During the professional program in Oak Ridge and Knoxville the staff from Second Harvest Food Bank, Knoxville, will present a program that will cover the initial concept of food bank and its early history in the United States, establishment of a food bank in Knoxville, and the initial program for this food bank and how it has developed into the organization of today.
At each stage participants will discuss the initial concepts and work through their development to share the growth, challenges, problems, and solutions at each stage of the maturing of the process. This will include a detailed discussion of the development of sources of foods, facilities needed to store and preserve the food, delivery systems needed; the promotion of organizations, churches, and agencies to act as distributions points, and finally the multiple programs and their
associated development that have grown out of this initial concept into the complex organization recognized in 18 counties
for its outstanding accomplishments.
 
The presentations and discussions in these three days are intended to establish a full understanding of potential operation
of a food bank in Obninsk. Finally, Bernie Beaudreau, assistant secretary and vice president for development from
the Global FoodBanking Network in Chicago, will discuss the global work of this organization and their potential involvement with Obninsk.

Home stays will allow the Open World delegates to experience American family life. They will also take part in several
cultural and community activities, including tours of Oak Ridge, Knoxville, the Smoky Mountains and a night at the
Cotton Eyed Joe.

The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999 to enhance understanding and capabilities for cooperation between
the United States and Russia. In 2003, Congress made all post-Soviet states eligible for the program. Thanks to Open World, some 12,000 current and future Eurasian leaders have experienced American civil society and have been exposed to new ideas and practices that they can adapt for use in their own work.

Open World also promotes partnerships and continued communications between delegates and their American hosts and
professional counterparts. Open World currently operates exchanges for political and civic leaders from Russia, Ukraine,
Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.