Hunger

Testifies at Senate Agriculture Committee on the Opportunities to Address Critical Issues During Reauthorization of Child Nutrition Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 17 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today testified in front of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Environment on the opportunities to combat child hunger and improve the health and nutrition of children across the country during the upcoming reauthorization of USDA's Child Nutrition Programs.

Below are excerpts from Vilsack's prepared testimony:

"The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs presents us with an important opportunity to combat child hunger, improve the health and nutrition of children across the nation, and enhance program performance.    » read more »

Legislation Encourages Donations to Feed Hungry Before Thanksgiving

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has designated this Thursday, November 19 – exactly one week before Thanksgiving Day -- as “Feed America Day”.

Senator Tom Udall, a sponsor of the bipartisan “Feed America Day” initiative, said that in the spirit of Thanksgiving, the bill encourages Americans to skip two meals this Thursday before Thanksgiving, and instead donate the money they would have spent or food to a local charity or food bank for the hungry.    » read more »

Statement of the Honorable Blanche L. Lincoln, Chairman, Hearing on Child Nutrition Reauthorization

November 17, 2009 -- As prepared for delivery:

“Good morning and welcome to the Senate Agriculture Committee, where today we will continue a series of hearings begun by my predecessor, Senator Tom Harkin, in anticipation of the reauthorization of federal child nutrition programs. We are honored today to be joined by two distinguished panels of witnesses, including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and a panel of experts from Arkansas.    » read more »

Hearing on Child Nutrition Reauthorization

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today urged his Senate colleagues to take action to end hunger as the Senate begins to debate the reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs. Senator Casey participated in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry entitled “Reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs: Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health.”    » read more »

Following New Report from USDA Showing Unprecedented Rise in Hunger, Brown Emphasizes Need to Enroll More Children in Nutrition Programs

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms, attended a hearing today of the Senate Agriculture Committee entitled, "Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health."

Brown emphasized the need to pass his Hunger Free Schools Act, which would help enroll more students who qualify for nutrition assistance in the school lunch program by increasing the program's efficiency through technology improvements and paperwork reduction.    » read more »

As Overall Hunger Rates Go Down Over Three Years in Colorado, Study Shows that Problem Increased in 2009 as Economic Crisis Continues to Hurt Families

November 17, 2009 -- On the heels of a new study that found 1 in 8 Colorado households lack dependable access to adequate food, as well as recent reports showing more children in Colorado are living in poverty, Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, today pushed lawmakers to revisit the role the federal government can play in fighting child hunger and improving public health.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- “As American families prepare to gather for Thanksgiving, we received an unsettling report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that found that hunger rose significantly last year. This trend was already painfully clear in many communities across our nation, where food stamp applications are surging and food pantry shelves are emptying.

It is particularly troubling that there were more than 500,000 families in which a child experienced hunger multiple times over the course of the year. Our children’s ability to grow, learn, and meet their full potential – and therefore our future competitiveness as a nation – depends on regular access to healthy meals.    » read more »

Economic Research Service Report Demonstrates Need for Action

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2009 - USDA's Economic Research Service's (ERS) today released its annual report on Household Food Security in the U.S., which revealed that in 2008, 17 million households, or 14.6 percent, were food insecure and families had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year.

This is an increase from 13 million households, or 11.1 percent, in 2007. The 2008 figures represent the highest level observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995. The full study is available at www.ers.usda.gov/features/householdfoodsecurity/.    » read more »

10.1 percent of households in Wisconsin faced food insecurity from 2006-08

November 16, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) -- Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) commented on the numbers released by the United States Department of Agriculture today tracking the food security of American households for 2008. Food security refers to a household’s consistent ability to access enough food for active, healthy lives for all household members at all times during the year.

The USDA study found that in 2008, 14.6 percent (17 million) households were food insecure, which means that eating patterns of a family were altered or disrupted because of insufficient resources for food.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) released the following statement today on the USDA’s report on Household Food Security in the United States, 2008, which showed 49 million Americans lack dependable access to adequate food. This is the highest number since the government began keeping records, and underscores the need for further action from Congress. Congresswoman DeLauro said:

“The new hunger figures released today by the USDA are deeply disturbing, especially given that food and fuel costs were rising so dramatically during 2008. It is even more disturbing to think that these numbers are probably worse today due to the economy.    » read more »

Arkansas Now Ranked as Having Third Highest Rate of Hunger in the U.S.

November 16, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, issued the following statement today in response to the release of the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2008 Food Security Report.

The report showed that 14.6 percent of U.S. households struggled to provide enough food to feed their families during certain times of the year in 2008, a significant increase over the rate of 11.1 percent in 2007. This is an increase of nearly 13 million individuals over just a one year period, from 36.2 million in 2007 to 49.1 million in 2008.    » read more »

USDA report shows highest level of U.S. food insecurity since report initiated in 1995; UN conference held on combating international hunger; Casey launches statewide “Witnesses to Hunger” exhibit

November 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- As the USDA released new data showing that one in seven American households had difficulty in putting enough food on the table and the World Summit on Food Security convened in Rome, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) addressed the urgent need to address food insecurity at home and abroad. Senator Casey also launched a statewide Witnesses to Hunger exhibit to document hunger and poverty.    » read more »

Vilsack Says Child Nutrition Reauthorization is Opportunity to Work Towards Goal of Ending Childhood Hunger

WORCESTER, Mass., November 9, 2009 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today visited Worchester, Mass., to help launch a hospital hunger initiative at UMass Memorial Health Care in Worchester aimed at eliminating hunger in our communities and reducing the barriers that keep families from receiving adequate nutrition. Vilsack was joined by Congressman Jim McGovern and Governor Deval Patrick as part of his efforts to draw attention to the issues of food insecurity and hunger and promote the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization.    » read more »

Findings may help explain gender differences in rates of obesity and binge eating

January 19, 2009 -- UPTON, NY — A ground-breaking brain-imaging study at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory shows that men, but not women, are able to control their brain’s response to their own favorite foods. The study, which will be published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of January 19, 2009, may help explain why rates of obesity and eating disorders are higher among women than men, and why women typically have more difficulty losing weight.    » read more »

July 17, 2008 -- At the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, the United States and more than 180 world leaders pledged to halve the total number of undernourished people worldwide from the 1990 level---a commitment that they reaffirmed in 2000 when they established the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which included a target to halve the proportion or the percentage of the world's population that is undernourished by 2015.    » read more »