Congressman McGovern Addresses the Massachusetts Hunger Summit

Statement

Let me begin by stating a fact that is too often forgotten. There are people right here in Massachusetts tonight who will go to bed hungry. There are people all across the country - in the richest nation in the history of the world - who will go to bed tonight hungry.

And all of you have gathered here today because you want to do something about that. For that alone, I thank you.

Now, the face of hunger here at home is not the same face we usually see on TV. It's not the swollen bellies or sunken eyes of famine that still devastates areas around the world.

Instead, the face of hunger is the elderly couple on a fixed income. It's the single mother or father whose energy and housing costs are rising. It's the elementary school child who misses breakfast because he can't get to school early enough to eat or doesn't want to be stigmatized among his friends for needing a free meal at school.

Nearly 36 million Americans go hungry every year. 12 million of those are children. These numbers are staggering. And, according to USDA, the problem is getting worse. More people went hungry here in Massachusetts between the years 2003-2005 than the two previous years. And hunger will only get worse if the economy continues to worsen. The USDA and U.S. Census Bureau report that 450,000 people in the Commonwealth lack adequate food - that's one in every seven people here in Massachusetts.

That's the bad news. The good news is this: hunger is a political condition. We have the resources to end it; what we need is the political will to make it happen.

That's where you come in.

Today, I ask every person in the audience to do two things:

One - Believe that we can end hunger in Massachusetts.

Two - Make a commitment to end it.

Massachusetts can and should serve as a model for the rest of the country.

Because tremendous efforts are already being made across the Commonwealth. We're trying to connect struggling families and individuals with federal food programs and, at the same time, come up with other innovative solutions to address this problem.

The Department of Transitional Assistance is taking steps to make it easier for eligible people to apply for food stamps. Just last month, they announced the opening of four full-service satellite offices and six food stamp outreach centers housed within community-based organizations, where clients can apply for food stamps, as well as other key benefits.

The Worcester Advisory Food Policy Council is creating innovative partnerships with groups including the Worcester Public Schools, Urban Farmers Agriculture Academy, the United Way of Central Massachusetts, and Commerce Bank to develop comprehensive ways to fight hunger.

Food banks, like the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, are also taking new approaches to fighting hunger - not just to relieve it today, but to eliminate it in the long term. Under their "Target: Hunger" initiative, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has created a four-year plan that includes:

Creating a directory of food security resources,
Creating an informed, motivated grassroots "army" of people to encourage residents to enroll in food stamps and guide them through the process, including clergy, medical personnel, community centers, and schools,
Improving community infrastructure to increase transportation links to grocery stores and services, establishing and expanding community gardens, farmers' markets, and farm-to-school programs.

Engaging in advocacy for state, federal and local policies, programs, and infrastructure that support local food security and access to good nutrition for all.

These are just a few of the many efforts happening throughout the state and are huge all steps in the right direction. The people involved in such initiatives should be commended for their work, and I hope we can use this summit to build off of these successes.

But, as always, there is still more to do. There is a role for everyone. The residents of this great state - the political establishment, the business community, educational institutions, clergy, teachers, lawyers, grocery retailers, farmers, youth, and medical professionals - can and must do more.

It's not enough to say you're against hunger. I've never met anyone who's actually "for" hunger.

No, my friends, this will require a coordinated and determined effort from all of us.

We must organize and communicate with each other, so we all know what our neighbors are doing and ensure we are working efficiently. In many cases, it will take federal, state and local funds to facilitate that coordination. But we must not think that we need a grant to do everything. The passion of volunteers assisting with food stamp applications or gleaning food from a local farm to support a low-income senior center can happen without any funding. In other instances, businesses, foundations, and individuals can and should step up and help.

But clearly, government at all levels - including the federal government - can and should do more.

Congress is in the midst of finalizing a Farm Bill that will hopefully provide one of the most sweeping expansions of the federal anti-hunger programs in decades. Unfortunately, this expansion won't be enough to end hunger in Massachusetts or across the nation.

The truth is - we can be a very slow partner. To do what's right - to fully fund food stamps and WIC, school meals and elderly feeding programs, for example - will literally take years to achieve at the federal levels. I will do everything I can in my position in the House of Representatives, but it's imperative that we not rely on federal legislation as the sole agent of change. Instead, we need to better utilize the federal programs as they are currently administered and look to the state and to non-governmental organizations to fill the void.

For example, we know that the federal Food Stamp Program is one of the most effective ways to combat hunger. It is also one of the most difficult and time-consuming programs to apply for. Previous administrations here in Massachusetts did not do enough to increase food stamp participation rates or reduce chronic access barriers. And as a result Massachusetts ranked near the bottom for food stamp participation for years, turning away at least $200 million annually in the process.

Yet, thanks to a variety of systematic changes, the statewide participation rate is increasing. In recognition of the Commonwealth's achievements in increasing the food stamp participation rate, last year USDA awarded Massachusetts two high performance bonuses totaling over $3 million. Specifically, the Commonwealth was singled out for improvements in the program access index and for processing applications in a timely manner.

According to USDA, the number of food stamp recipients increased 8% from December 2006 to December 2007 - an increase of over 35,000 people in just one year.

That's a huge step in the right direction, and Governor Patrick and the staff at DTA should be commended for this important improvement.

But, as always, there is still more to do. With your help today, DTA will collect ideas and best practices to increase the food stamp participation rate even further.

This afternoon, as you attend the various breakout sessions, I hope you will examine ways to increase the food stamp participation rate, as well as ways for the Commonwealth to better utilize the other federal anti-hunger programs.

According to the Food Research and Action Center and Project Bread, over $40 million in additional federal funds would be brought into Massachusetts simply by increasing enrollment in three of the federal nutrition programs - school breakfast, food stamps, and summer food - by just 10%

That's the kind of specific, achievable goal that I hope we can focus on today.

At the end of the day, I hope you will help produce an instruction manual to end hunger; a playbook that can be presented to Governor Patrick.

This playbook should be comprehensive - it must address ways to increase participation in the federal anti-hunger programs as well as ways to improve how these programs are run. But it must also look outside the traditional anti-hunger community.

How can we better utilize all the resources - not just government resources - we have here in the Commonwealth?

One group we need to involve is the grocers. Massachusetts supermarkets and local grocers receive over $500 million every year directly in food purchases made by food stamps and WIC. They are an integral part of combating hunger and we need to work with them on ways to help people stretch limited food stamp dollars, to provide discounts for fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods, and to work with appropriate state agencies to provide in-store assistance with applications for the federal benefits.

How can we better utilize schools, not only as a place to provide food, but as resource to combating hunger? Can we incorporate anti-hunger information into the curriculum? Are our students - high school and college - a resource that can be tapped to fight hunger and increase nutrition awareness?

There are over 400 high schools in Massachusetts and over 100 colleges and universities. If each school organized a group dedicated to fighting hunger in their community, it could go a long way.

Already, schools like South High Community School in Worcester and Worcester State College are challenging their students to become more active in fighting hunger in their communities. Their efforts should be replicated and expanded in other schools and higher-education institutions state-wide. High schools could hold food drives at halftimes of football and basketball games. Schools could adopt food pantries and food banks, ensuring that more food is directed at these currently struggling institutions. Students participating in the Federal Work Study program, which was originally designed to be a community service program, could use their work hours to contribute to creating hunger free communities. Just imagine the impact these acts would have in combating hunger here in Massachusetts.

Another idea could be the implementation of universal breakfast. The expansion of school breakfasts to every child is critical, and breakfast should be served at the beginning of the school day, or "at the bell." Ensuring that every child starts the day off with a nutritious meal allows that student to learn - and perform - better. Recent studies also show that children who have a nutritious breakfast everyday are less likely to be overweight. And providing breakfast at the bell eliminates the stigmas - like being identified as poor by having to show up before school begins to get fed - attached with a free meal.

I'm pleased that Worcester State College has agreed to convene school superintendents and heads of colleges and universities in the Commonwealth to develop strategies for harnessing the incredible energies and talents of the education community in making Massachusetts Hunger Free.

In addition to the education system, what about our health care system? We all know that we are blessed in Massachusetts with some of the finest doctors, hospitals and other health care providers in the world. The question is: Are we using them effectively in the fight against hunger?

After all, hunger is a health issue. The health outcomes for children who are food insecure are worse than those of children who are food secure. There are 184 neighborhood health centers and 150 hospitals in Massachusetts. If medical providers in even half of these centers began screening for hunger and referring people to food resources that are available, we could dramatically improve food stamp participation, which could reduce the costs of prolonged health care problems. If they find a patient is food insecure, they can do the same thing they do for any health problem they cannot treat - refer them to a specialist.

This is how Boston Medical Center treats its patients. BMC, the GROW Clinic, and the work of Dr. Deborah Frank, in particular, are an inspiration to me, and the institution is a model that should be replicated in health care delivery systems around the country.

I believe that other innovative solutions can be found. For instance, why couldn't health care institutions, which have taken a lead in enrolling clients for state health insurance, use the same Virtual Gateway program to enroll clients in Food Stamps and other government assistance programs?

And I will be asking prominent medical journals like the New England Journal of Medicine or the Journal of the American Medical Association to dedicate an issue solely on hunger as a health issue.

Already, some of our leaders in the health care field are stepping up to the plate. I'm pleased to announce today that John O'Brien, President and CEO of UMass Memorial Healthcare in my hometown of Worcester, has agreed to play a significant role in convening healthcare providers in Massachusetts to discuss and plan how to treat hunger as health issue. It is my hope that we will organize a meeting where hospital CEOs, the heads of Community Health Centers, insurance company executives, doctors, and nurses will come together to develop a statewide plan to treat hunger as a health issue.

As we focus on individuals who do not receive enough food, we must also acknowledge the paradox of hunger and obesity. We know that hunger and obesity are related -- that in many cases low- and middle-income families are forced to buy non-nutritious foods because they have difficulty making ends meet. Healthy food is more expensive. Processed, unhealthy food is cheaper. The rising cost of food is making things worse.

Last year, I took the Food Stamp Challenge to highlight the challenge food stamp recipients are facing with a benefit that is inadequate for today's food prices. The average benefit is $1 per meal per day. The minimum benefit is $10 a month. My wife Lisa joined me on this challenge and, together, we lived on $42 for a week. We made it through just fine, but we knew that we only had one week to endure this quote - hardship - end quote. Well, with the price of food today, that menu that cost us $42 a year ago now costs $53.

During the Food Stamp Challenge I was on the Tucker Carlson show. He said to me, "How can you claim that there's a hunger problem in America? Isn't the problem that people in America are too fat?" That's the kind of ignorance and misinformation we are fighting. Of course, his show has been canceled, so that's a start!

And this summit is a start, as well.

Ultimately we want a Massachusetts without food pantries and food banks.

We want a Massachusetts where people aren't forced to choose between buying food and medicine.

We want a Massachusetts with a strengthened safety net.

We want a Massachusetts where, thanks to the people in this room and the strategy we put together, hunger is a problem of the past.

So let's get to work. Thank you.

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