Barbara Lee Comments on USDA Hunger Report

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture report, "Household Food Security in the United States in 2010":

"It is tragic that in the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, millions of Americans continue to struggle with hunger each and every day. Due to the commitment by the President to reduce child hunger and the hard work of thousands of federal, state and local workers, and untold numbers of food banks, community groups and service organizations, we are moving in the right direction and we are reducing hunger even during a difficult recession. The USDA reported that the national rate of "food insecurity,' which is a technical term for American families having to go to bed hungry, decreased slightly to 14.5 percent. Nearly 10 percent of children in American households are missing meals at some time during the year.

"We continue, however, to see an unacceptable gap in the rates of hunger in minority communities. For white households, the rate of food insecurity is 10.8 percent, compared to African American households at 25.1 percent and Hispanic households at 26.2 percent. Rates of "high food insecurity" have a similar pattern of racial disparity, with Whites at 4.2 percent, African Americans at 9.1 percent, and Hispanic households at 8.4 percent.

"The disparities in the rates of hunger in American families are a direct reflection of the historic and ongoing impacts of the pattern and practice of discrimination in employment, education, housing, banking and nearly every other aspect of American life. We must put targeted policies in place that will invest in African Americans, Latinos and communities of color -- that is the only way that we will ever close the persistent disparities in hunger and inequality of all kinds which continues to divide Americans along the colorline."

Source