Press Releases

Today, the National Commission on Hunger released their final report, Freedom from Hunger: An Achievable Goal for The United States of America, Recommendations of the National Commission on Hunger to Congress and the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. The Hunger Commission was created by the Omnibus Appropriations Bill of 2014 and Commission members were appointed equally by House and Senate leaders.

Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), two of the leading voices in Congress calling for strong investments in anti-hunger programs, released the following statements in response to the report.

Representative McGovern (D-MA) said, “Today’s National Hunger Commission report is a powerful reminder that we have much more work to do to end hunger for American families. With strict parameters and a limited budget, writing this report was no easy task and I’m grateful to the Commission members for the report and its recommendations. This report underscores how fundamentally important and effective our federal nutrition programs are to reducing hunger, most notably the Supplemental Food Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“SNAP is first and foremost a food program, not a jobs program. SNAP cannot be expected to solve the broader economic challenges or barriers faced by people ready and willing to work so they can provide for their families. We must continue to strengthen SNAP as America’s premier anti-hunger entitlement program.

“Additionally, I have long called for a White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Hunger to develop a holistic plan to end hunger in this country once and for all. So I am pleased that the report calls for the creation of a White House Leadership Council to End Hunger – a key step to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to do just that. Hunger is essentially a political problem. We have the food, resources, and ability to end hunger. What’s lacking is the political will. I hope this report will help spur more discussion, attention, and action to end hunger for families across the country.”

Representative DeLauro (D-CT) said, “The National Hunger Commission was given a difficult task in examining the state of hunger in America and I thank the Commission for its hard work. The report confirms, as we already knew, that SNAP and other anti-hunger programs are highly effective at reducing hunger across the country. These programs are critical in meeting the nutritional needs of our families and as the report highlights, we cannot afford to cut or block grant the programs.

“However, while the Commission solely focused on the 17.2 million Americans suffering the lowest level of food security, we should also bring attention to the other 30.9 million Americans suffering from marginal food security. By doing so, we can better understand all of the nation’s hunger problems and the associated human, economic and fiscal costs. We must go further in combatting hunger in America and find solutions for the full magnitude of the nation’s poverty and hunger issues.”

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