End Childhood Hunger Now

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest health challenges
facing our country right now is hunger. We have a hunger problem in the
United States of America.

For far too long, we have minimized the problem. Some have even
ignored the problem. In short, our response has been inadequate. And we
have failed to view hunger as a health issue, which it is. For our
Nation's youngest and most vulnerable, our children, the negative
effects of childhood hunger are pervasive and long-lasting.

So last week I was pleased to see the American Academy of Pediatrics
release its newest policy statement which, for the first time,
recommends that pediatricians screen all children for food insecurity.
The new recommendations consist of two simple questions for
pediatricians to ask parents of young children at their annual well
visit to identify and address childhood hunger. It also recommends that
pediatricians become more familiar with our robust system of antihunger
programs at the Federal, State, and local levels. When pediatricians
know more about these antihunger programs and the resources they
provide, they will be better prepared to help families in need.

Pediatricians are among the most respected, if not the most
respected, voices on children's issues; and I hope that, with the AAP's
policy statement, more people will start paying attention to the
devastating effects of childhood hunger on America's future.

It is shameful that childhood hunger even exists in this country, the
richest country in the world, that one in five children lives in a food
insecure household, that 17.2 million households in this country
struggle with food insecurity, that the only reliable healthy meals
some kids receive are the ones they get through school breakfasts or
lunches. Their mothers and fathers are forced to skip meals so that
their kids can have more to eat because the family simply cannot afford
to put enough food on the table.

The harmful effects of hunger on children are well documented: for
example, children who live in households that are food insecure get
sick more often, recover more slowly from illness, have poorer overall
health, and are hospitalized more frequently.

Children and adolescents affected by food insecurity are more likely
to be iron deficient, and preadolescent boys dealing with hunger issues
have lower bone density. Early childhood malnutrition is also tied to
conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Lack of adequate healthy food can impair a child's ability to
concentrate and perform well in school and is linked to higher levels
of behavioral and emotional problems from preschool through
adolescence.

I have personally heard from pediatricians who see kids in the
emergency room come in for a common cold that has become much worse
because they don't have enough to eat, and their immune systems have
been compromised. Stories like these are heartbreaking.

Mr. Speaker, we know that consistent access to adequate nutritious
food is one of the best medicines for growing, thriving children.
Children's Health Watch, a national network of pediatricians and child
health professionals, found that, in comparison to children whose
families were eligible but did not receive SNAP, young children whose
families received SNAP were significantly less likely to be at risk of
being underweight or experiencing developmental delays.

If Members of Congress are not swayed by the moral arguments for
ending childhood hunger, they ought to be swayed by the economic ones.
Ensuring that our kids have access to enough nutritious food saves
money in the form of reduced healthcare costs and helps them become
more productive contributors to our economy later in life.

Mr. Speaker, without our robust Federal antihunger programs, there
would no doubt be more hungry children in this country.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children, or WIC, provides nutritious food and support for children and
mothers. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is our
Nation's premiere antihunger program and helps millions of low-income
families afford to purchase food every month. About half of all SNAP
recipients are children. And our school breakfast and lunch programs,
summer meals, and Child and Adult Food Care Programs all provide
nutritious meals to children in community, child-friendly settings.

We can't forget about the incredible work our food banks, food
pantries, and other charities do to provide healthy food for low-income
children and their families. Despite the incredible work that they do,
charities cannot do it alone. The demand is simply too great. Charities
need a strong Federal partner to end hunger in this country.

Mr. Speaker, for a while now, I have been urging the White House to
convene a White House conference on food, nutrition, and hunger. We
ought to bring antihunger groups, pediatricians, business leaders,
teachers, hospitals, farmers, nonprofits, faith leaders, and
governmental officials together to come up with a plan to end hunger in
this country once and for all. I can think of no more compelling reason
to end hunger now than for the health and well-being of America's
children.

In closing, I commend the American Academy of Pediatrics for working
to solve hunger as a health issue and addressing how it affects our
country's greatest resource: our children. We can and we should do more
to end hunger now.

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