AARP FOUNDATION
HUNGER HERO
Andy
Czerkas
Sen. Daniel K. Inouye
CHIEF COMPROMISER
WHILE MANY ARGUE that politics in Washington, D.C., has never been uglier,
you’d never know it by talking to Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the most senior member
of the U.S. Senate. His secret? A decades-long commitment to common courtesy.
“I’ve always said it takes two to tango,” says the 87-year-old Democrat, who has
represented Hawaii since 1959. “Somebody can be a little nasty, but if you respond in
a positive way, [they usually] straighten up.” Best known for such high-profile assign-
ments as the Watergate Committee in the 1970s and chairing the Iran-Contra Com-
mittee in the 1980s, Inouye is just as proud of his recent accomplishments: hashing
out behind-the-scenes budget agreements, especially those on military spending, as
chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. “Anyone who is will-
ing to stand in harm’s way on my behalf, I’m with ’em,” he says. —Sarah Mahoney
WHEN ANDY CZERKAS, 64,
opened The River Food Pantry
in Madison, Wisconsin, five
years ago, he knew it would
address a real need. But he
didn’t expect that need to
grow so fast—the number of
families the pantry feeds is up
10 percent just since last year.
Czerkas and his wife, Jenny,
53, had for years worked
through their church, organiz-
ing community dinners, but in
2005 they decided to “do
something a little bit bigger.”
Today the pantry distributes
25,000 pounds of food each
week to up to 600 families.
This isn’t the typical food
bank: Clients “shop” among
the aisles as if they were in a
grocery store, pick out donat-
ed clothing, and eat hot meals
served every Friday night on
tables set with flowers, table-
cloths, and silver ware. “It’s
very difficult for someone
who’s never needed help to
come in and admit they need
it. We try to take the sting
out,” says Czerkas. “We can’t
fix things for people. We talk
to them, we give them food.
Sometimes that’s enough,
even if it’s just for a little
while.” —Christina Ianzito
