Update from the National Governors Association Summer Meeting
Posted by Billy Shore on Monday, July 12, 2010
On Friday we further advanced our strategy for ending childhood hunger thanks to a unique opportunity to share progress with and enlist support from many of the nation’s governors at the summer meeting of the National Governors Association in Boston.
The Governors held a joint session of two NGA committees on Early Childhood and Health that was chaired by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and included Governors O’Malley (Maryland), Rounds (South Dakota), Paterson (NY), Patrick (MA), Richardson (NM), Beebe (Arkansas), Culver (Iowa), Brewer (Arizona) and about a dozen others. That the governors devoted a two hour session to childhood hunger and nutrition was a major accomplishment in itself. And that we were the only anti-hunger organization invited to attend was an important statement about the relationships we’ve built and the value governors are finding in our work.
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack traveled to Boston to urge the governors to support the Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation and he made special reference to the need for state challenge grants (which we’ve championed via the Bennett amendment to the Senate bill and the Polis language in the House bill). He made the point that only 25% of 19-24 year-olds in the U.S. are fit for military service, and he described childhood hunger and nutrition as national security issues.
Governor Ritter told the assembled governors of his partnership with Share Our Strength and Hunger Free Colorado to expand summer meals by 50% and to challenge school principals to increase participation in school breakfast. Governor O’Malley told his colleagues that “Share Our Strength has the template for ending childhood hunger and I urge you to work with them at the highest level.”
In addition to this session we had a private meeting with Governor Beebe of Arkansas, which has some of the most severe hunger issues in the country, and only 10% participation in summer feeding, and secured his support for our efforts to bring a campaign to his state. And chef Andy Husbands hosted a lunch in which Josh Wachs – Share Our Strength’s Chief Strategy Officer – had the opportunity present our strategy to a packed room of current and prospective corporate partners that included WalMart, CGI, Ocean Spray, Dominion, and many others.
Given how focused our strategy is on execution at the state level, and the importance of having a governor as champion, the NGA conference was a particularly valuable opportunity for us. Hopefully we helped the governors to see that of all of the suffering and hardship that has been caused by the recession and the high unemployment still plaguing our economy, perhaps the most unnecessary of that suffering is among hungry children.
The programs to address their needs – school breakfast and lunch, summer feeding, SNAP – are long-established and enjoy bipartisan support. What they do not enjoy is anywhere close to full participation. That is something governors can change and on Friday we were able to show them how.
July 12, 2010 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: government, no kid hungry, state partnerships
Post a comment
All fields are required (your e-mail address will not be displayed)