Hungry Americans Need Congress to Bring Relief to Dire Food Shortages in the Farm Bill (Statement)
Statement Attributable to:
Vicki Escarra
President & CEO
(Available for interview upon request.)
“Food banks are experiencing critically low levels of inventory throughout the nation. Funding the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) at adequate levels could bring much needed relief to this dire situation.
“Meanwhile, as the Senate Agriculture Committee considers the Farm Bill, it continues to cut back the amount of funding for TEFAP that the House passed in July. With 35 million Americans living on the brink of hunger, I can not understand why the Senate is not matching the House-passed $250 million per year for TEFAP, with the amount indexed to keep pace with inflation. Even this level would not restore overall TEFAP donations to previous levels, but it would provide a reasonable and predictable level of federal support for emergency feeding programs.
“In recent visits to food banks and some of the 50,000 emergency feeding organizations in our Network, newspapers reporters have found shockingly empty shelves and bare cupboards. A short time ago, food donated by the federal government was sitting on the same shelves.
“Why has this happened? Ironically, the declines are primarily because of a strong agricultural economy, which leads to USDA purchasing surplus food much less frequently. Many of these surplus food purchases are donated to food banks. The value of USDA food support to these organizations has declined dramatically in recent years. Last year, the value of the food was $175 million less than in 2003.
“Empty shelves mean empty stomachs. The House saw the wisdom in ensuring that hungry Americans who are forced to turn to a food pantry or soup kitchen for help are able to receive a reasonable amount of food. We are very disappointed that the Senate bill currently being discussed appears to reject a very sensible level of funding that would help provide adequate access to nutritious food for the 25 million people who turn to our Network for assistance every year.”
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America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through its network of more than 200 member food banks, America's Second Harvest annually provides assistance to more than 25 million people in need, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, America's Second Harvest secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products to support feeding programs at approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. To learn more, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
Contact:
Ross Fraser
Office: 312.641.6422
Cell: 312.307.8470
