Generous touch

Chicago, March 4 (AP): Actress Drew Barrymore said yesterday that she is donating $1 million to help fight hunger worldwide, and she met later with commodities traders in Chicago to highlight the hardships caused by soaring food prices.

The 33-year-old American actress will give the money to the World Food Programme, a UN body that delivers millions of tons of food aid to more than 70 million people in about 80 countries, she said on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

“I’m able to make this incredible donation — this has changed my life,” said Barrymore, who serves as a WFP ambassador against hunger. “But I encourage everyone to give.”

Later, she told The Associated Press that the $1 million was “by far” the largest donation she has ever made. “But nothing has ever felt so good,” she said.

Barrymore — whose screen credits include the Charlie’s Angels movies and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial — visited the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade yesterday afternoon, saying she discussed the impact of rising food prices on the poor. “I wanted to bring awareness to it because it’s not something we think about,” she said.