[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    ARKANSAS NO KID HUNGRY CAMPAIGN

 Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, today I wish to address the 
serious issue of childhood hunger in my home State of Arkansas, and the 
important work of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and the Arkansas 
No Kid Hungry campaign in addressing this issue.
  New data released by the United States Department of Agriculture on 
our Nation's food insecurity showed that nearly 20 percent of Arkansas 
households struggle to provide adequate food during the year. Today, 
more than one in four kids in Arkansas face hunger. Since 2010 the 
Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign, a partnership between the Arkansas 
Hunger Relief Alliance under the leadership of Kathy Webb, the office 
of Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, and other stakeholders, has been 
committed to ending childhood hunger and food insecurity for families 
in my State.
  Fortunately for Arkansas, the No Kid Hungry campaign is hard at work 
to make sure that kids across the State have access to the healthy, 
nutritious foods they need. Since the No Kid Hungry campaign came to 
Arkansas, it has brought 1.2 million additional meals to kids who need 
them. They are dedicated to expanding access to school breakfast, free 
summer meals, and afterschool meals. Additionally, through its Cooking 
Matters nutrition education program, the Arkansas No Kid Hungry 
campaign empowers families with the skills, knowledge, and confidence 
to prepare healthy meals on a budget. More than 1,800 families across 
the State have already participated in Cooking Matters programming.
  Research shows eating breakfast has a dramatic and positive effect on 
students, and as Arkansas kids head back to school, more will be 
starting their days with a healthy breakfast. However, there is a large 
gap in the number of kids who are eligible for free or reduced-price 
meals at school and those who are accessing the Federal School 
Breakfast Program. In Arkansas, only about 55 percent of the students 
who eat free or reduced-price school lunches each day are also getting 
school breakfast. The Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign is working to 
change that by moving school breakfast out of the cafeteria and making 
it a part of the school day, ensuring more low-income students are able 
to start with a healthy meal. In 2012, the campaign helped to connect 
approximately 4,400 additional kids to the School Breakfast Program.
  Summer continues to be a challenging time for low-income kids. The 
Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign ensures that kids have continued access 
to healthy meals. Again, the Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign stepped up 
to the challenge, increasing the number of meals served to kids during 
the summer by more than 730,000 between 2010 and 2012.
  ``Hunger in Our Schools,'' a new report by the No Kid Hungry 
campaign, found that three in four public school teachers see their 
students arrive at school hungry. In the report, an Arkansas teacher 
spoke about kids in her classroom impacted by hunger. She said, 
``Asking a student to come to school and learn while they're hungry is 
like trying to tell an adult to sit in their cubicle and work with a 
nail in their foot; the pain is all you'd be able to concentrate on, 
just like food is the only thing hungry kids can focus on. Before you 
can focus on grades or behavior, you have to make sure kids have the 
basic necessities of life.''
  There is still work to be done across Arkansas to ensure kids and 
families have consistent access to healthy, nutritious foods. I am 
confident that with the continued strong work of the Arkansas No Kid 
Hungry campaign and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, with its six 
Feeding America member food banks, we can create an Arkansas where no 
child goes hungry.

                          ____________________