[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 49 (Monday, March 31, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E452-E453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNITION OF GLOBAL CHILD NUTRITION MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 31, 2008

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 
School Nutrition Association, SNA, and the Global Child Nutrition 
Foundation, GCNF naming April as Global Child Nutrition Month.
  As part of this recognition, school nutrition professionals are 
encouraged to take 1 day, 1 week, or all month to partner with students 
and teachers in an effort to raise awareness about the ravages of 
hunger among children around the globe and here in the United States.
  Hunger is a political condition. We have the means to end hunger here 
in the U.S. and around the world--we just haven't mustered the 
political will to do so. This observance is an opportunity to raise 
awareness about the solutions to global hunger and poverty and, 
ultimately, to help build momentum in the fight to end the scourge of 
hunger.

[[Page E453]]

  At any given moment, as many as 300 million of the world's children 
are trapped in the grinding cycle of poverty and hunger. Imagine trying 
to learn, grow and succeed while struggling with hunger.
  For some children, hunger may be offset by healthy school meals. For 
others, especially in developing nations, hunger is acute--it is 
literal starvation. It is a contributor to disease and early death. 
According to the United Nations, hunger and malnutrition take the lives 
of 18,000 kids every single day.
  Although we may not be able to resolve all sorts of natural and 
political forces, we do know that nurturing and educating a child is 
the single most effective means of breaking the cycle of poverty.
  According to the World Food Program, 130 million children do not 
attend school; and among those who do, most do not receive meals during 
school hours. A hungry child cannot learn or thrive; a society whose 
children live in hunger will never prosper.
  The Global Child Nutrition Foundation was created in 2006 with the 
mission of expanding opportunities for the world's children to receive 
adequate nutrition for learning and achieving their potential.
  This observance is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the 
solutions to global hunger and poverty.
  GCNF President and SNA Past President Gene White, a certified school 
nutrition specialist, said it best--``By combining our will and 
resources, hunger will no longer set boundaries for learning and 
achievement. Freeing children from hunger so they may become self-
supporting, contributing citizens is a worthy endeavor. It is also a 
step toward building a more stable and peaceful world.''
  Madam Speaker, as someone who is committed to ending hunger once and 
for all, I thank and commend the School Nutrition Association and the 
Global Child Nutrition Foundation for naming April as Global Child 
Nutrition Month.
  It is my hope that all of us can work to be part of the solution as 
we raise awareness in eradicating hunger.

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