Press Releases

Wednesday July 24, 2013

Mr. Speaker,

For the nineteenth time this year, I rise to talk about my effort to End Hunger Now. Nearly every week this year, I’ve stood on this floor and talked about hunger in America and how we can End Hunger Now.

Today, I want to talk about a group of people who are fighting hunger around this country. At first, they may seem an unlikely group of anti-hunger advocates. But look deeper and it’s easy to see how their connection to good, healthy food makes them natural allies in our effort to End Hunger Now.

M. Speaker, I’m talking about America’s chefs – the culinary artists who cook for all of us whether we’re eating at neighborhood restaurants or fine dining establishments. America’s chefs have recognized that hunger and obesity are problems in America and they know how important access to healthy food is for proper development no matter what age a hungry or malnourished person is.

Chefs across this country have rallied behind First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign and, especially, the healthy eating component of her campaign. They understand that healthy food is critical for healthy bodies and minds. But what’s less well known is that these same chefs have also picked up the mantle of hunger in America. They realize that hunger and obesity are the opposite sides of the same coin – that it’s possible to be hungry and obese simply because you lack money to buy healthy foods and, in many cases, healthier options including fresh fruits and vegetables simply aren’t available.

That’s why these chefs have been working on eliminating food deserts – those areas both urban and rural where there isn’t access to low cost, healthy and nutritious foods. And they’ve been working with food banks and other anti-hunger organizations on ways to provide food to poor and needy Americans. This includes vigorously defending SNAP and the Child Nutrition Programs.

One of the great leaders on hunger from the culinary industry is Tom Colicchio, someone I’m proud to call a friend and ally. Tom wears several hats – he’s a successful restaurateur with restaurants across this country from Los Angeles to New York and he’s a television celebrity with his role as judge on Top Chef. But more recently, and more importantly to millions of Americans who may never have the opportunity to eat at one of his restaurants, Tom is an advocate for the hungry and for those who are trying to improve their lives. He was a vocal supporter of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act that increased funding for school meals in order to improve the nutritional quality of food served at schools. But he’s also a producer of the documentary “A Place at the Table,” a beautifully filmed, heart wrenching movie about hunger in America. His role in our fight to End Hunger Now cannot be understated and his efforts are needed and appreciated.

Then there is my dear friend chef Jose Andres – who brings a passion and a commitment to ending hunger. He has dedicated himself to raising awareness, challenging policy makers and giving back to the community in ways both large and small that have really made a difference to ending hunger in America and around the world.

And he’s not alone. Chefs like Mark Murray, Rachel Ray, Bryan Voltaggio, and Charlie Palmer – to name a few – all lend their names, restaurants and themselves to the fight to End Hunger Now. Working through anti-hunger organizations like Share Our Strength, founded and run by my good friend Billy Shore, these chefs are reducing hunger in so many different and unique ways.

But it’s not just the famous, celebrity chefs who are helping. Share Our Strength has a program called Cooking Matters where chefs teach low-income families healthier ways to cook food. Together with their Shopping Matters program, where these same families can learn how to navigate their local markets to purchase the healthiest food they can afford, these programs are fighting hunger at local levels. And the chefs involved – from Arkansas to Colorado to Massachusetts – are using their expertise to teach these families the healthiest ways to cook food.

I participated in a Cooking Matters class in my hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts. I saw firsthand how chefs taught low-income families how to cook food in healthier ways and not just deep frying them; how, for example, these families can incorporate healthier options including vegetables and lower fat cheeses, for example.

Chefs are just one of the non-traditional groups that are out in the real world fighting hunger. They are leading by example. And their actions need to be highlighted not just on the House floor but at the White House – at a White House Conference on Food and Nutrition. Chefs should absolutely be part of such a conference where they can talk about their efforts and ways they can help low-income families improve their cooking and eating habits.

These chefs and the organizations they partner with are a key part in our fight to End Hunger Now. I commend them for their dedication and I look forward to working with them in this effort.

I yield back the balance of my time.