President's Budget Jeopardizes Food Security for Nearly 500,000 Seniors
Hunger is at an all time high as federal nutrition programs are slashed
CHICAGO --- February 6, 2006 --- The White House Fiscal Year 2007 budget released today completely eliminated funding for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) which provides food boxes to low-income seniors and women, infants and children in 32 states, the District of Columbia and two Indian tribal areas. The nearly 500,000 seniors currently receiving benefits from the program, who often have to make choices between paying for medicine and food, will be left without access to nutritious food each month.
“With hunger and food insecurity are at an all time high, the thought of denying nearly half a million seniors a box of nutritious food each month is tragic,” said Robert Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest — The Nation’s Food Bank Network. “Now is not the time to cut federal nutrition programs. CSFP has been tremendously successful in ensuring our seniors have adequate food supply where the program is available.”
Senior households account for almost 90 percent of CSFP caseloads. CSFP food boxes include a range of USDA supported commodities that help low income families supplement their often meager diets. Approximately 40 percent of all CSFP commodity food packages are distributed through America’s Second Harvest Network Members.
“It is time for the Administration to make the well being of our low-income neighbors a top priority,” said Forney. “Cutting federal nutrition programs only further burdens our Member food banks and food-rescue organizations which are already operating on extremely tight budgets and food supply. Reducing access to food means more people in the United States will go hungry.”
The America’s Second Harvest Network of more than 200 food banks and food-rescue organizations provides emergency food assistance to 23 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.
For more information on the America's Second Harvest Network, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
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America's Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the country with a Network of more than 200 Member food banks and food - rescue programs serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually; and supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. Last year, the America's Second Harvest Network provided food assistance to more than 23 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors. For more on America's Second Harvest, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
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Contact:
MAURA DALY
Office: 312.641.6421
Cell:
301.943.3733
