[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 30, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H10124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WORKING TO END HUNGER IN AMERICA

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize my colleague and 
fellow Hunger Caucus co-Chair, Congressman John Boozman of Arkansas, 
for his leadership in the fight to end hunger. On Monday, Congressman 
Boozman hosted a hunger relief and nutrition roundtable to address 
hunger in his district, an issue that affects one in seven Arkansas 
residents.
  Joined by Dr. Janey Thornton, deputy under secretary of Agriculture 
for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, this forum brought together 
local antihunger leaders to coordinate efforts and discuss innovative 
ways to eliminate hunger in Arkansas' Third Congressional District. 
Today, more American than ever struggle to put food on their tables. 
Hunger is getting worse here in America, and we should do more to 
combat it. I encourage my colleagues to follow Congressman Boozman's 
example and host forums to address the problem of hunger in their 
congressional districts. We owe it to our constituents to come together 
and to put an end to hunger in America once and for all.
  I would like to insert into the Record the following article from The 
Morning News:

                        [From the Morning News]

           Lack of Transportation Worsens Hunger, Experts Say

                           (By Doug Thompson)

       Rogers.--A full food bank does a hungry person no good if 
     it's miles away and he cannot drive there, hunger experts 
     agreed.
       Janey Thornton, deputy undersecretary for Food, Nutrition 
     and Consumer Services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
     met Monday with directors of local food relief agencies and 
     charities along with 3rd District Rep. John Boozman, R-
     Rogers. At least 50 people attended the forum at the Center 
     for Nonprofits in Rogers.
       ``Do you have problems with `food deserts?' '' Thornton 
     asked soon after the question and answer portion began. 
     ``There are large areas across the country where people don't 
     have a big chain store nearby for a variety of reasons.'' 
     Attendees replied that poor people, particularly the elderly, 
     lack transportation. They go to convenience stores that sell 
     a few groceries. That's a trend nationwide, Thornton said.
       ``There's little or no fresh fruits and vegetables,'' at 
     these small stores, Thornton said. ``They're also a whole lot 
     more expensive. Milk and other basics can cost two times the 
     amount that you'd find at a chain store.''
       ``Transportation is a huge, huge problem among seniors,'' 
     said Marge Wolf, director of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank 
     in Bethel Heights. Wolf added that a lack of basic cooking 
     skills has also become a problem.
       ``Since the recession began, we're having more and more 
     people who don't know how to cook,'' Wolf said. ``We have 
     food at the bank where, if we give it to someone, they do not 
     know how to cook it.''
       That is a national trend also, Thornton said. Many could 
     buy food that was at least partly prepared, requiring only 
     heating or some simple preparation to eat when they were 
     employed, she said. ``There are some food banks across the 
     country that are installing kitchens to give basic cooking 
     lessons,'' she said.
       It would also help if more people learned to garden, 
     Thornton added. This skill is of great value to the poor, she 
     said. Her home state of Kentucky has a program where seniors 
     show students how to plant gardens in the spring, then tend 
     the gardens while students are away during the summer. The 
     food is harvested in the fall and served in school 
     cafeterias, she said.

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