[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 165 (Monday, December 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S14027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RESPONSE TO HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
outstanding work of antihunger leaders, volunteers, and organizations 
throughout the gulf coast region and the Nation who have risen to the 
occasion and provided much needed food, support, and basic services to 
victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As we approach the holiday 
season, I want to take the opportunity to help raise awareness about 
the challenges the charitable food industry have met in the wake of the 
hurricanes as well as the increased demands on their services and food 
supplies.
  I want to focus my remarks on food rescue and food bank organizations 
and antihunger advocates operating in my home State of Arkansas. I also 
want to highlight the amazing work done by America's Second Harvest, 
A2H, and its national network of food banks to bring food relief to the 
thousands of our fellow citizens suffering from the devastation wrought 
by the gulf region hurricanes.
  Arkansas is fortunate to have a strong network of antihunger, food 
rescue, and food bank organizations that tirelessly work to feed hungry 
Arkansans. This dynamic network includes six A2H affiliates located 
across Arkansas which include the Foodbank of North Central Arkansas, 
Harvest Texarkana, Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, River Valley 
Regional Food Bank, Arkansas Foodbank Network, and the Ozark Food Bank. 
Other essential partners in the network include the Arkansas Rice 
Depot, Potluck, Inc., Heifer International, Winrock International, 
local food pantries, homeless shelters, church soup kitchens, faith-
based antihunger programs and advocacy groups such as the Arkansas 
Hunger Coalition, Arkansas Community Action Agencies, Arkansas Hunger 
Relief Alliance, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the 
Interfaith Network.
  I am proud of the many volunteers, employees, and financial 
contributors of these organizations and programs. Their commitments to 
feed the hungry and serve the poor is making a great difference in 
Arkansas for our citizens and for the thousands of hurricane victims 
who sought shelter in Arkansas after the hurricanes and for many that 
still remain.
  I am also proud of America's Second Harvest national leadership to 
organize its network of food banks to respond to the disaster area 
along the gulf coast region. Within hours of Hurricane Katrina's 
landfall in the gulf coast, A2H food banks from around the Nation began 
sending truckloads of food and water to the affected areas. Volunteers 
and staff from the network also were dispatched to the gulf region to 
help with relief efforts and provide support to the food banks and food 
rescue organizations trying to operate in areas where many of the local 
food distribution agencies had been wiped out.
  A2H immediately began to raise funds nationally for hurricane relief 
and dedicated all of these donations solely to food acquisition, 
transportation, storage, and distribution to the disaster victims in 
the gulf region. Undamaged food was rescued from the flooded New 
Orleans food banks and additional warehouse space was secured in other 
areas to ensure that the A2H network would be able to meet the dramatic 
increase in demand for emergency food assistance that continues to this 
day in the gulf region.
  Staff and volunteers worked tirelessly, night and day, for weeks on 
end to get food and distribute it to those in need. They collected, 
transported, stored, and provided more than 59 million pounds of food, 
accounting for more than 46 million meals valued at an estimated $88 
million to the gulf region. This effort is continuing as the need 
broadens to reach those displaced persons in other areas where so many 
victims have been relocated.
  On Thursday, December 15, 2005, A2H released a report at a Capitol 
Hill press conference documenting their study on the depth and breadth 
of the impact of the gulf region hurricane disasters on the charitable 
food distribution system and the clients it serves. The study results 
report that there are some 40 A2H food banks located in the hurricane-
impacted areas. Demands for emergency food assistance in these Gulf 
Coast states tripled immediately following Hurricane Katrina and 
continue to be more than 50 percent higher than prior to the disaster. 
It is clear that much more is needed to secure the basic needs of those 
in the gulf region. Additionally, inventories donated to the gulf 
region by many food banks have not been replaced and are now struggling 
to feed the clients and families they regularly serve.
  A2H has helped shed the light on the severity of the situation that 
still exists for thousands of families throughout the gulf coast 
region. I hope that my colleagues in both the Senate and House will 
take a close look at these findings to reinforce the need for 
congressional support for our local grassroots antihunger organizations 
and for continued support of our vital Federal food assistance programs 
like Food Stamps, WIC, School Breakfast and Lunch, and Child and Adult 
Care Food Program.
  All of these important programs and activities are essential 
ingredients in our Nation's battle to end hunger in America, whether it 
comes from natural disasters or the everyday struggles of low-income 
Americans to make ends meet. Thank you to America's Second Harvest and 
to the many antihunger volunteers and advocates throughout Arkansas and 
across our Nation who are making a difference.

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