House Lawmaker Says EO Sector Needs Support of Congress, White House

Ending hunger here at home is one of my passions. I have committed myself to doing everything I can to end hunger here in the United States. Hunger isn't a partisan issue, but it is a political condition. We are the richest, most prosperous nation in the world yet we still haven't found the political will to end hunger. And that's why hearings like this are so important. It's up to us to shine a bright light on this problem; it's up to us to act together to end the scourge of hunger here at home.

On Monday, the Department of Agriculture released their annual report on food insecurity in the United States. Simply, this report measures the number of hungry people here in the United States. The fact that we're even talking about people going hungry is embarrassing and flat-out wrong. Unfortunately, we found out that hunger is getting worse in America, not better.

The statistics and findings are startling, frightening, and unacceptable. The report found that 49 million Americans are food insecure. Of those, 17 million children, more than one in five, went without food at some point during the year -- an increase of 5 million children over the previous year. Even worse, the number children living in very low food insecure households -- the hungriest of the hungry -- rose from 323,000 in 2007 to 506,000 in 2008.

That means that almost 2 million children are among the hungriest of the hungry in America. Race and gender are also factors. About 37 percent of single mothers struggled for food in 2008 and, more disturbing, more than one in seven said someone in their household had been hungry. And the report found that African Americans and Hispanics were more than twice as likely as whites to report food insecurity at home.

If that weren't bad enough, we know that next year's food insecurity numbers will likely be even worse than those released earlier this week.

Hunger here in the U.S. is not the same as hunger around the world. We don't see mass starvation -- sunken eyes and swollen bellies -- here at home like we do in other parts of the world. Instead, hunger is manifested in different ways -- both undernourishment and lower-weight people but also in obesity and obesity-related health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. The chief reason is the anti-hunger safety net that has been developed and funded over the past decades. Programs like Food Stamps, now called SNAP, the school meal programs, WIC and TEFAP make up the safety net that prevents people from slipping into starvation.

Yet despite the success of these programs, we still have 49 million people who go hungry each year. Of course, the real question is how much worse would hunger be without these safety net programs. And you're going to hear how the current economy is causing more people to turn to these safety net programs.

We all know the economy is bad; that our friends and neighbors are hurting. Food banks and food pantries are on the front lines of the fight against hunger. When the economy worsens, food banks and food pantries see people that normally don't have to rely on help from others. There are countless stories and news articles showing how middle-class families who used to donate to food banks are now relying on boxes of food simply to make ends meet.

Chairman Lewis and McDermott, the people who run the food banks and food pantries are my heroes. Many donate their time and money out of the goodness of their own hearts. It breaks their hearts to see many of their neighbors who used to donate food now being forced to rely on the kindness of others in order to make ends meet. Food banks and food pantries face extraordinary difficulties and pressures because of the current economy and I strongly encourage you, if you haven't already done so. If you're interested, I'm happy to talk with you after this hearing about other ways you can get involved in your district.

Finally, while I believe we can end hunger in our lifetimes, I can't state strongly enough that I believe we need White House leadership on this issue. I introduced H.R. 1869, a bill calling for a White House Conference on Food and Nutrition. A White House Conference would bring together experts in food, health, nutrition, and economic security to develop a plan not only to end hunger once and for all in the United States, but also require that proper nutrition be taken into account in such a plan. Ending hunger is the moral thing to do, but it's also critical that we address the issues associated with the rising cost of food and health care, increased obesity rates, and the health problems associated with obesity, poor nutrition, and hunger. I hope you will consider cosponsoring this bill.

Thank you again for allowing me to testify before you today. I'm happy to take any questions you may have.