CARE Act Would Increase Food For Hungry People

Chicago, IL -- April 11, 2002 -- The slower national economy has resulted in increased demands on hunger-relief organizations around the country. Passage of the CARE Act, S. 1924, would increase food donations from family farms and small local businesses, increasing donations to the hunger-relief charity by according to a statement issued today by Robert H. Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest.

America's Second Harvest strongly supports legislative efforts to improve the quality and quantity of donated foods vital to its work in feed the 23 million hungry Americans served by its national network of more than 200 food banks and food-rescue organizations. At a White House ceremony today, Forney and Lucy Cabrera, Ph.D., President and CEO of Food for Survival, New York City's food bank represented America's Second Harvest while President Bush urged quick passage of the CARE Act.

The CARE Act includes the provisions of the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act, originally introduced by Senators Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), that would provide a new tax incentive to family farmers, small businesses and independent restaurant owners that would make in-kind food donations financially viable. The measure would allow all food donors, regardless of the types of business they operate, to take a charitable tax deduction for that donation.

"This is one tax change that is a win-win for all parties - farmers, small businesses, charities, and most importantly, hungry Americans," Forney said.

In February, America's Second Harvest issued a national Call to Action to raise awareness, funds and the estimated 365 million pounds of additional food needed to meet the increased need.

"Eighty percent of our affiliates have experienced an increase in demand over this time last year. The slower economy and uncertainties in the job market have resulted in many new families finding it difficult to feed their families," Forney said. Last December, the U.S. Conference of Mayors found an increase of 23 percent in the demand for emergency food services.

The growing demand for emergency food assistance has in too many instances outstripped the food resources of local charities. A 2001 study of America's Second Harvest affiliates indicated that many agencies have had to turn away clients seeking emergency food assistance at local charities because the charity they turned to for help lacked adequate food.

America's Second Harvest feeds hungry Americans through 50,000 community-based agencies served by more than 200 affiliated food banks and food-rescue operations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 96 billion pounds of edible food are wasted and dumped in landfills each year. Through enactment of the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act, if even one percent of that food was re-directed from landfills to local charities instead, it would nearly double the entire food distribution throughout the America's Second Harvest network to people in need.