Durbin Introduces Hunger-Free Communties Act of 2005

DURBIN INTRODUCES HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES ACT OF 2005

Legislation Establishes New Goal to End Hunger by 2015 & Creates Innovative Public/Private Partnership to Reverse Rising Trend of Hunger

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005, legislation to increase federal resources available to locally-based organizations working to end hunger in their communities. Additionally, the Act contains a sense of the Congress establishing a new goal of eliminating hunger in the United States by 2015. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Gordon Smith (R-OR).

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's most recent report on hunger and food insecurity, 36.3 million people - including nearly 13.3 million children - live in households that experienced hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States (11.2 percent) and is an increase of 1.4 million, from 34.9 million in 2002.

"Hunger is not a partisan issue, and we now have the opportunity to forge a new bipartisan partnership, committed to addressing hunger in communities all across our country," Durbin said. "During the 1960s and 1970s, under both Democratic and Republican Administrations, our country put in place programs that substantially reduced the number of people who struggle to feed their families. Unfortunately, today hunger and food insecurity has been on the rise. That is why we introduced The Hunger-Free Communities Act."

Title I of the Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005 reaffirms Congress' commitment to cut U.S. food insecurity in half by 2010 and sets a new goal of ending hunger in the U.S. by 2015. Additionally, it preserves the current federal food programs and protects nutrition and anti-hunger initiatives. Furthermore, it directs the Census Bureau to collect annual data on food security and the Department of Agriculture to report yearly on the status of efforts to eliminate hunger and to provide recommendations to further reduce hunger.

Under Title II of the Durbin bill, Congress will establish an anti-hunger grant program, the first of its kind, with an emphasis on assessing hunger in individual communities and promoting cooperation and collaboration among local anti-hunger groups. This public/private partnership will be funded through a $50 million a year, five-year grant program to help communities reduce, and ultimately eliminate, hunger.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=238241&&