Baylor's Texas Hunger Initiative Director Co-hosts Documentary on Childhood Hunger and Obesity on Texas PBS Stations Feb. 23

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Why and how do childhood hunger and obesity overlap and how does this issue affect Texans? Texas PBS stations are bringing awareness to these issues through the Texas Feeding Minds project in February.

"Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity" is a 60-minute news-style documentary premiering on Texas PBS stations Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. Its purpose is to bring awareness to these overlapping issues and to share what government, community organizations and individuals are doing to combat them. The program has been made possible by a grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

"Feeding Minds" will air in Central Texas at 8 p.m. Feb. 23 on KNCT-TV, as well as 11 other Texas PBS affiliates.

Jeremy Everett, Director of the Texas Hunger Initiative in the Baylor University School of Social Work, and Camille Miller, President/CEO of the Texas Health Institute, serve as both program advisers and co-hosts. Their advisement has directed Texas PBS stations to topics and solutions that will both bring awareness to these overlapping issues as well as direct viewers to solutions that can be emulated in various communities across the state.

Viewers will travel around the state to seven Texas cities to see how their communities are addressing these problems and developing solutions. Efforts being undertaken by state agencies, schools, food banks, congregations, community organizations and individuals are all highlighted. Stations contributing to this effort are: Austin/KLRU, Corpus Christi/KEDT, Public Media for North Texas/KERA, El Paso/KCOS, HoustonPBS/KUHT, Lubbock/KTTZ and San Antonio/KLRN. Amarillo/KACV at Amarillo College has served as the coordinator and producer of the program.

The Texas Feeding Minds project also includes a community engagement effort which has given organizations and Texans of all ages the opportunity to share their own stories on this topic through a YouTube channel dedicated solely to the project: www.youtube.com/texasfeedingminds.

Contributing stations include College Station/KAMU, El Paso/KCOS, Harlingen/KMBH and HoustonPBS/KUHT, with other stations also lending content as well. This online effort has been made possible by Blue Bell Ice Cream.

The public is welcome to follow the Texas Feeding Minds project on Facebook: www.facebook.com/txfeedingminds.

Texas PBS is comprised of 12 public television stations whose collective aim is to inspire community engagement and lifelong learning for all Texans. www.texaspbs.org.

For more information, contact:

Kierstan Schwab, Executive Director, Texas Public Broadcasting Association, 512-223-2719, or Cullen Lutz, Community Engagement Specialist, KACV/Amarillo, 806-576-4480

Media contact: Lori Fogleman, director of media communications, (254) 710-6275