Poverty and Child Nutrition
Posted by Pat Nicklin on Friday, September 17, 2010
On September 15, the U.S. Census Bureau confirmed that the ranks of the working- poor have climbed to the highest level since the 1960s. The recession has left one in seven Americans in poverty – and the rise was even steeper for children, with one in five affected.
A dramatic jump in poverty rates impacts our education and healthcare systems, and ripples through our society. But it is first felt in terms of hunger.
When there are reports of crisis in the auto or banking industry, policy-makers jump through hoops to address them. We need an equally aggressive response on the part of policy makers to the poverty crisis in this society, for the sake of the many millions of Americans who are suffering from hunger and the other symptoms of poverty.
Nearly 17 million children struggle within America, 430,000 more than a year ago and more than at any time in our nation’s history. We’ve long known that hunger impairs our children’s health in significant and long-lasting ways, including physical and mental development. Simply stated, a hungry child can’t learn – and we owe it to these kids, and to the future of our country, to do all we can to give them a fair shot.
Congress can take action immediately by getting a strong Child Nutrition Bill to the President’s desk by September 30. The best solution is the current House version of the bill, which increases access to food and child nutrition programs without cutting into other programs, such as food stamps (SNAP), that are essential to ending hunger. We hope Congress will continue to work toward this model, which will provide the most help for America’s struggling families.
If you want to learn more about Child Nutrition Legislation, please visit our Child Nutrition Reauthorization page »
September 17, 2010 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: Child Nutrition Reauthorization, no kid hungry, poverty
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