[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16066]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           NATIONAL FOOD DAY

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 24, 2011

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today is National Food Day--a full day 
devoted to all aspects of the American food system: farms, industry, 
grocers, schools, and most importantly people. One stated goal of Food 
Day is to ``expand access to food and alleviate hunger.'' Mr. Speaker, 
it's unconscionable that hunger continues to exist in America. Nearly 
50 million Americans go hungry every year. Over 17 million--one third--
of them are children. The sad truth is hunger is a reality in every 
community. There is not one part of America, not one Congressional 
district, that isn't touched by hunger.
  In my own district, as in many others places in America, volunteers 
help to alleviate hunger. On Saturday, I joined children and their 
parents in gleaning apples. We picked fresh, healthy fruit from an 
orchard to be delivered to the local food bank. If not for these 
volunteers, the apples would go to waste. It's an inevitable part of 
farming--produce that isn't ripe or is missed in the initial harvest 
stays on the trees or in the fields--because going back for a second 
harvest is too costly.
  At times volunteering is costly too. Transporting gleaned food to the 
very people who rely on it takes time and fuel. And we're finding that 
the transportation costs are becoming a barrier to delivering gleaned 
food, and this fresh produce is left to rot in the fields instead of 
helping to feed hungry Americans.
  That is why Representative Emerson and I introduced H.R. 3177, the 
Hunger Relief Trucking Tax Credit Act. This bill would encourage and 
reward individuals and businesses who haul gleaned food from one 
location to another within the U.S. Many trucking companies and 
individuals pay for transportation of this food out of their own 
pockets. The Hunger Relief Trucking Tax Credit Act would create a 25 
cent tax credit for each mile that food is transported for a charity by 
a donated truck and driver for hunger relief efforts. This legislation 
will support those who are already transporting food donations and 
entice more companies to do so. We must make every effort to bring food 
to those who rely on it to feed themselves and their families.
  As we celebrate National Food Day, I urge my colleagues to join us by 
cosponsoring this important legislation.

                          ____________________