CHILD HUNGER IN AMERICA: CHILDREN DENIED FOOD BY OUR OWN CONGRESS

133 BILLION POUNDS OF EDIBLE FOOD IS WASTED BY RETAILERS, FOOD SERVICE COMPANIES AND CONSUMERS EVERY YEAR, ABOUT 1 1/4 POUNDS PER DAY OF EDIBLE FOOD FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA GOING IN THE TRASH...MORE THAN ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED ALL OUR HUNGRY KIDS.

ONE IN EVERY FIVE CHILDREN IN AMERICA GOES HUNGRY DAILY.
THEY DO NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE FOOD SUPPLY.

" Food insecurity exists in EVERY county and congressional district in the country. But not everyone struggling with hunger qualifies for federal nutrition assistance."


TO SEE AND INTERACT WITH A MAP THAT SHOWS, BY COUNTY, THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN WHO MAY HAVE TO GO HUNGRY TODAY IN AMERICA GO TO http://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2014/overall# .


ABOUT 50 MILLION AMERICANS SIMPLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOOD TO NOT BE HUNGRY.
OF THIS NUMBER, BARELY HALF QUALIFY FOR "SNAP", THE FEDERAL "FOOD STAMP" PROGRAM.


15.3 MILLION AMERICAN CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18 SUFFER FROM WHAT IS TERMED "FOOD INSECURITY", A POLITICALLY CORRECT WAY OF SAYING THEIR PARENTS ARE TOO POOR TO AFFORD TO PROPERLY FEED THEM.

"Stacy Koltiska resigned last week from Wylandville Elementary School in the Canon-McMillan School District after she had to take a hot lunch away from an elementary school student because the child's parent had fallen more than $25 behind in paying for his school lunches."  


AN ONSITE "VOTE" ON THAT ARTICLE'S WEBSITE SHOWS 60% OF AMERICA AGREED WITH THAT SCHOOL'S POLICY OF REFUSING TO SERVE HOT LUNCHES TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS, AND THE SAME 60% AGREE WITH THE POLICY OF THAT SCHOOL DISTRICT OF SERVING NO FOOD TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHOSE PARENTS DO NOT PAY FOR THEIR LUNCHES.
WHETHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, A CHILD WHO IS HUNGRY NEEDS TO BE FED.
AN EMPTY STOMACH IS NOT SOMETHING CHILDREN SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO DEAL WITH WHEN FOOD IS AVAILABLE.

TO THAT 60% WHO THINK WITHHOLDING FOOD IS FINE OR THAT OFFERING A COLD SANDWICH OVER A HOT MEAL TO A YOUNG CHILD IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY COUNTRY!

TO ANYONE WHO WOULD NOT WILLINGLY, GLADLY FEED ANY HUNGRY CHILD, MAY YOU KNOW THE REALITY OF HUNGER LONG ENOUGH TO CHANGE YOUR MINDS.
MAY YOU BECOME PERSONALLY ACQUAINTED WITH NEED AND MAY NO ONE COME TO YOUR AID UNTIL YOU REALIZE THAT WHEN ONE HAS MORE THAN ENOUGH, ONE GIVES THE EXCESS FREELY TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING.

APPARENTLY, WE CAN COUNT THE GOP SIDE OF THE FLOOR IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE IN THE RANKS OF THAT 60% WHO THINK IT'S OKAY TO LET KIDS GO HUNGRY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT EVEN ONBOARD WITH FUNDING FREE LUNCHES FOR POOR KIDS.

H.R. 5003, WHICH WOULD DECREASE APPROPRIATED FUNDS TO FEED THESE KIDS, IS STILL BEING "DEBATED" ON OLD CAPITOL HILL.
THAT BILL WOULD CUT FUNDING FOR FOOD FOR AMERICAN CHILDREN.
WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED?

"Among the groups which have issued statements opposing the legislation are the School Nutrition Association (SNA), American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the Food Research & Action Center."


"On April 22, 2016, the First Focus Campaign for Children sent a letter to members of the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee strongly stating its opposition of the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016.
We believe healthy nutrition is an essential building block of a healthy childhood and that no child in America should ever go hungry. Students who have access to healthy and nutritious food perform better in school. Twenty percent of American children live in poverty and more than 15 million children live in food-insecure households. Child nutrition programs play an essential role in providing healthy meals to kids both in and out of school.

As introduced, the House Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 (H.R. 5003) would put access to many essential children’s food programs at risk. The bill also weakens nutrition standards that help children thrive academically and developmentally. Specifically, the provisions to increase both verification requirements and community eligibility thresholds will undoubtedly result in children losing free and reduced price meals during the school day.

We must continue to improve access to healthy and nutritious foods for all kids, rather than create additional barriers for the families who need it most."


WHAT KIND OF HEARTLESSNESS EXISTS IN THE SOULS OF SUCH POLITICIANS WHO OFFER HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN WELFARE (SUBSIDIES) TO BIG CORPORATIONS AND TAX LOOPHOLES AND PORK BARREL FUNDS TO WALL STREET NAMES BUT WILL NOT ALLOW FUNDS TO FEED AMERICA'S HUNGRY CHILDREN?

"If this bill becomes law, 7,022 schools now using community eligibility to simplify their meal programs and improve access for low-income students could have to reinstate applications and return to monitoring eligibility in the lunch line within two years.
  These schools serve nearly 3.4 million students. 
Another 11,647 schools that qualify for community eligibility but have not yet adopted it could lose eligibility.

 Access to healthy meals at home and school can help children overcome some of the negative consequences of poverty and food insecurity.  Yet the bill would eliminate the option of community eligibility for thousands of schools serving some of our highest-poverty communities, imposing more paperwork and administrative burdens on under-resourced schools. 

The bill would limit community eligibility to schools or groups of schools with ISPs of 60 percent or more, rather than the current threshold of 40 percent. 
The schools that would no longer qualify for community eligibility serve predominantly low-income students in some of our highest-poverty communities.

Meanwhile, educators report that children who eat breakfast at school are more likely to arrive at school on time, behave, and be attentive in class.

Community eligibility enables schools to deliver, with minimal red tape, a critical benefit that can have lasting positive impacts for children in high-poverty neighborhoods.  Severely limiting eligibility for the option would impose burdens on schools that already struggle to educate children despite limited resources and the additional hurdles posed by operating in a high-poverty neighborhood.  With community eligibility only in its second year of nationwide implementation, its benefits are just beginning to ripple through schools and low-income communities.  Policymakers should leave this option alone and give thousands of schools and the children they serve a better chance to succeed."

[ END NOTE: This paper draws heavily on data gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CBPP, and the Food Research & Action Center published in “Community Eligibility Database: Schools That Can Adopt Community Eligibility for 2015 – 2016,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Food Research & Action Center, revised May 13, 2016, http://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/community-eligibility-database-schools-that-can-adopt-community-eligibility, as well as discussions of community eligibility in Becca Segal et al., “Community Eligibility Adoption Rises for the 2015–2016 School Year, Increasing Access to School Meals,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Food Research & Action Center, revised May 13, 2016, http://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/community-eligibility-adoption-rises-for-the-2015-2016-school-year.]


DID YOU REALIZE HOW TIGHT-FISTED THE MAJORITY OF CONGRESS IS WHEN IT COMES TO FEEDING KIDS, AMERICA?

THEY'LL OKAY FUNDS FOR $34 BILLION IN FOREIGN AID FOR 2017, SPEND $1.1 TRILLION ON FEEDING OUR MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX THAT RUNS THE WARS WE LOSE LOVED ONES TO, BUT WILL NOT APPROPRIATE ADEQUATE FUNDS FOR FOOD FOR KIDS.
(OR PROPER CARE OF OUR MILITARY ABROAD OR OF OUR RETURNING VETERANS, BTW.)  
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THIS? 

WHAT THEIR ATTITUDE AMOUNTS TO IS BOTH CHILD NEGLECT AND CHILD ABUSE.

In 2014, the top five states with the highest rate of food-insecure children under 18 were Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama, and Arkansas

In 2015, approximately 20 percent of children in the U.S. lived in poverty.

NOT BY CHOICE!
NOT BY ANY FAULT OF THEIRS!
IT IS NO CHILD'S "FAULT" THAT THEY ARE IN NEED.

"Feeding America" undertook the Map the Meal Gap project.
AND THE TEA ROOM SALUTES THEM FOR THAT.

FOR EVERY $1 GIVEN TO THIS ORGANIZATION, THEY SAY THEY CAN OFFER 11 MEALS TO HUNGRY KIDS.
OR, WE CAN TAKE IT UPON OURSELVES, AS A COMMUNITY, TO FEED EVERY HUNGRY CHILD IN OUR OWN TOWNS AND COUNTIES, SAY 'TO HELL WITH CONGRESS' AND JUST TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN AS WE HAVE SO OFTEN IN THE PAST.

BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE CONGRESS TO FEED OUR NATION'S CHILDREN, MAYBE WE DON'T NEED A CONGRESS AT ALL?
MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST SHUT THAT WHOREHOUSE DOWN, SEND THEM ALL HOME, AND RUN THIS NATION OURSELVES?

IT'S NOT LIKE WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.
MILLIONS WERE TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER LONG BEFORE WE HAD A UNITED STATES, LONG BEFORE WE HAD A PRESIDENT OR A CONGRESS.

THOSE MILLIONS WERE CALLED "INDIGENOUS TRIBES", AND, AFTER THE BOATS CAME, WE CALLED THEM "SETTLERS" AND THEY MANAGED TO MAKE IT ALMOST 200 YEARS WITHOUT A "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT".

IF THOSE WE ELECT TO SERVE OUR BEST INTERESTS INSTEAD SERVE THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND THE INTERESTS OF THOSE WHO FINANCE THEIR DAMNABLE CAMPAIGNS, MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST END THAT AND START, ONCE AGAIN, DOING WHAT'S RIGHT, DOING WHAT WE KNOW NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND STOP DOING WHAT WALL STREET AND THE BANKING CARTEL WANTS?

A MAN OR WOMAN WHO WON'T GLADLY FEED A CHILD, WHO WANTS TO DECREASE FUNDING FOR THAT, DESERVES TO BE DEPORTED.

AS I HEAR OFTEN SAID HERE IN THE SOUTH.... "HELL AIN'T HALF FULL."

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR POLITICIANS.....


.

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some 50 miles of concrete highway. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. This, I repeat, is the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking? This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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GET INVOLVED:

Ask your member of Congress to visit a Summer Feeding Site

	Take action on this issue
This summer current Child Nutrition bill could expire, leaving our country's children without access to programs that feed them beyond the school day. As your members of Congress fly home for the August Recess and visit a Summer Feeding Site.
Tell Your Sen to Co-Sponsor the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act of 2015	Take action on this issue

Read more about the findings of Map the Meal Gap in our Executive Summary, access local food insecurity data tables by state or learn how we got this data.