Representatives McGovern and Emerson Introduce Nutrition Bill to Help End Hunger in America
“The Feeding Families in America Act Provides $20 Billion In New Spending For Critical Federal Nutrition Programs”
CHICAGO – May 3, 2007 – U.S. Reps. James McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) today introduced the “Feeding America’s Families Act” (HR 2129) which would provide $20 billion in new spending over the next five years for federal nutrition programs. This legislation proposes changes that likely will be part of congressional deliberations on the nutrition title of the next Farm Bill. The current Farm Bill, scheduled to expire at the end of this fiscal year, provides spending authority for federal nutrition programs that are critical sources of nourishment for millions of hungry Americans, including the Food Stamp Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and related nutrition programs.
“I commend Reps. McGovern and Emerson for their continued leadership in the fight against hunger in America,” said Vicki Escarra, president and chief executive officer of America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network. “Federal nutrition programs like Food Stamps and TEFAP are the first line of defense against hunger for the more than 35 million Americans living on the brink of hunger. We need significant investment in these vital programs in the reauthorization of the Farm Bill.”
Highlights of the bill include: increasing benefits for the Food Stamp Program (currently averaging $1 per meal per person), providing easier access for Food Stamp enrollments (current enrollment is 60% of eligible households), strengthening the ability of non-profit food providers and their ability to provide federal assistance to needy people, increasing the level of investment in TEFAP, one of the largest sources of food for the emergency food assistance Network, and increase the resources available for the processing, transporting, storing and distributing of TEFAP commodities over five years; reauthorizing the CSFP; increasing the minimum benefit for food stamp recipients from $10 to more than $30; restoring access to the Food Stamp Program benefits for groups that experienced a loss or reduction in benefits following reforms to the program in 1996; and reducing or eliminating certain asset tests to expand Food Stamp Program eligibility to many working low-income families and the elderly.
“As the largest charitable hunger-relief organization in the United States, our Network serves more than 25 million Americans, including 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors, each year,” said Escarra. “We are working to end hunger in America, but we can not do it alone. The Federal Government has an important leadership and resource role. We cannot continue to allow one in ten Americans to be hungry or at risk of hunger. The reauthorization of the Farm Bill will be among the most important pieces of legislation that Congress will consider this year. We need to be a food secure nation. We are not now. This Farm Bill reauthorization can help ensure that no one in our country goes to bed hungry at night. I am grateful to Reps. McGovern and Emerson for their leadership in this area.”
For more information on America’s Second Harvest, 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 organizations 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 25 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors. For more on the America's Second Harvest Network, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
Contact:
Maura Daly
312.641.6421
Ross Fraser
312.641.6422
