Ambassador Tony Hall, Managing Director of the Alliance to End Hunger and Member of Congress (D-OH), Retired
I will never forget a visit I made to a town in the Appalachia region of Southeastern Ohio. As I approached a trailer carrying a box, six kids began running toward me. When I told them the box contained food, they jumped up and down with joy. I thought to myself, “Kids should be this excited for holidays, weekends, and playing with friends; but not for food.” But the harsh reality is that many people in this country rejoice for food, because they do not know where their next meal is coming from.
Childhood hunger is a national problem. Of the 50 million people who struggled to get enough to eat last year, one in four was a child— 4 million more children than the year before. For many kids, programs such as the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Program, provide their only full meal of the day.
Once every five years, Congress reviews the federal child nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch, Summer Food, Child and Adult Care Food and WIC programs. This time around, President Obama and anti-hunger advocates are asking Congress to increase funding for child nutrition programs by $1 billion. This would be a big step toward ensuring that no child in America goes hungry.
On March 24, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to reauthorize child nutrition programs with an additional $450 million in funding. While I applaud their efforts, they fall short of our goal -- Fortunately, there is still time to act.
Call your Senator and Member of Congress and tell them that you support the President’s request for $1 billion in funding to expand access and participation in these programs. Tell them that no child in America should have to worry about where their next meal will come from.
For more information visit Alliance to End Hunger members Bread for the World or Feeding America, as well as the Sodexo Foundation .