III 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 156 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 25, 2005 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Dole, and Mr. Leahy) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating June 7, 2005, as National Hunger Awareness Day and authorizing that the Senate offices of Senators Gordon Smith, Blanche L. Lincoln, Elizabeth Dole, and Richard J. Durbin be used to collect donations of food from May 26, 2005, until June 7, 2005, from concerned Members of Congress and staff to assist families suffering from hunger and food insecurity in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Whereas food insecurity and hunger are a fact of life for millions of low-income Americans and can produce physical, mental, and social impairments; Whereas recent census data show that almost 36,300,000 people in the United States live in households experiencing hunger or food insecurity; Whereas the problem of hunger and food insecurity can be found in rural, suburban, and urban America, touching nearly every American community; Whereas although substantial progress has been made in reducing the incidence of hunger and food insecurity in the United States, certain groups, including the working poor, the elderly, homeless people, children, migrant workers, and Native Americans remain vulnerable to hunger and the negative effects of food deprivation; Whereas the people of the United States have a long tradition of providing food assistance to hungry people through acts of private generosity and public support programs; Whereas the United States Government, through Federal food assistance programs like the Federal Food Stamp Program, child nutrition programs, and food donation programs, provides essential nutrition support to millions of low-income people; Whereas there is a growing awareness of the important public and private partnership role that community-based organizations, institutions of faith, and charities provide in assisting hungry and food insecure people; Whereas more than 50,000 local community-based organizations rely on the support and efforts of more than 1,000,000 volunteers to provide food assistance and services to millions of vulnerable people; Whereas a diverse group of organizations have documented substantial increases in requests for emergency food assistance over the past year; and Whereas all Americans can help participate in hunger relief efforts in their communities by donating food and money, volunteering, and supporting public policies aimed at reducing hunger: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)designates June 7, 2005, as National Hunger Awareness Day; (2)calls upon the people of the United States to observe National Hunger Awareness Day— (A)with appropriate ceremonies, volunteer activities, and other support for local antihunger advocacy efforts and hunger relief charities, including food banks, food rescue organizations, food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters; and (B)with the year-round support of programs and public policies that reduce hunger and food insecurity in the United States; and (3)authorizes the offices of Senators Smith, Lincoln, Dole, and Durbin to collect donations of food from May 26, 2005, until June 7, 2005, from concerned Members of Congress and staff to assist families suffering from hunger and food insecurity in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.