[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 183 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H8014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE SILENT EPIDEMIC OF FOOD INSECURITY AND HUNGER

  (Mr. BUTTERFIELD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring attention to a silent 
epidemic growing in our midst. Right alongside long-term unemployment, 
the increases in poverty and food prices, homelessness and the steep 
decline in household incomes is now the shocking rate of food 
insecurity and hunger.
  According to the USDA, there are 46 million Americans surviving on 
food stamps. While Congress considers reductions to food stamp funding, 
the USDA predicts that the number of people requiring food assistance 
will substantially increase.
  Last week, in my district in North Carolina, which ranks second in 
the country for food insecurity, I greeted thousands of people lined up 
outside of the Wilson OIC and the food bank of the Albemarle food 
distribution centers to collect bags of food for the Thanksgiving 
holiday.
  Mr. Speaker, to help remedy the challenges to food security, I 
introduced H.R. 3437, the Eva Clayton Fellows Program Act. This 
legislation would enable the development of solutions to world hunger 
and confront food insecurity head on.
  Food insecurity is not a partisan issue. I urge my colleagues to join 
me in this fight.

                          ____________________