Congressional candidate Sam Rasoul says something must be done to fix the hunger crisis in the Valley.

Rasoul toured the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank with his wife Friday to get a first hand account of just how many people rely on the food bank for their everyday meals.

Rasoul says he was surprised to hear that number was so high. He believes creating a new energy policy could solve some of the hunger crisis.

Rasoul comments, "Deriving an energy policy that really tries to reduce world hunger and poverty by making sure that we pick responsible bio fuels that really work, and we know that corn based ethanol is just not the answer."

In response to Rasoul's visit, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, who is running against Rasoul, says, "Another thing that would help all families facing higher food costs would be for the government to stop mandating and subsidizing the use of basic food commodities like corn for ethanol production."