The Pope's Address to Congress

Statement

Dear Neighbors,

This week His Holiness Pope Francis will make a historic Joint Address to Congress, and I've invited LaVerne Horgan, Food Pantry Manager at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Schaumburg, IL, to be my guest for this event.

LaVerne has volunteered her time each week to oversee the operations of the food pantry since its inception in 2004. This year alone, the food pantry in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository has helped over 2,900 families in Schaumburg and the surrounding suburbs put food on the table.

Hunger is a personal issue for me. As a child, my family relied on food stamps and school lunches to help us get through a difficult period after my father lost his job. With 1 in 7 Illinois residents currently food insecure, the work done by volunteers is critical to ensure that families have access to healthy meals. Moving forward, Congress must do everything in its power to bolster food security efforts and defend vital public nutrition programs aimed at ending hunger in our nation.

In Congress I've fought efforts to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and held roundtables and other events. I offered an amendment in 2013 to require a report to Congress on the effects that proposed cuts to SNAP would have on the ability of charitable food providers, like the Church of the Holy Spirit food pantry, to meet demand.

I'm a strong advocate for expanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Nutrition Program to help more children access quality meals during the summer months. Childhood hunger in the United States is our responsibility, and collectively we must take action to ensure proper nutrition is available for students regardless of whether they are in school or on summer break.

Ending hunger in America should not be a partisan issue. Congress and the American people must work together to achieve food security across our nation.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Duckworth

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