[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11396-11397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    USDA SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to talk about good 
government. I am also here to talk about a program that everybody in 
this Chamber should be proud of; indeed, every American should be proud 
of. It is the USDA Summer Food Service Program. This is a program, to 
put it very simply, that attempts to make sure that no child in this 
country goes hungry during the summer months.
  For a lot of kids, Mr. Speaker, who receive free or reduced 
breakfasts or lunches, hunger doesn't magically go away during the 
summer months. This program is important on a number of levels, but it 
is important for my colleagues to understand that hunger and food 
insecurity in this country is also a health issue.
  Kids who don't have enough to eat, who miss meals on a regular basis, 
who don't have access to nutritious food, are more likely to get sick. 
Kids who don't have access to good, nutritious foods are not able to 
learn in school. Too often, kids who are struggling and in poverty end 
up filling their stomachs by relying on junk food because that is the 
cheapest food that is available in so many communities across this 
country.
  The summer feeding program that USDA champions tries to change that. 
It tries to make sure that kids not only have good access to nutritious 
food during the school year, but also during the summer months.
  I had the great privilege on Monday to tour through my congressional 
district in Massachusetts and visit a number of these summer feeding 
sites. I was joined by local leaders, leaders in USDA, and 
representatives from a number of NGOs. We also had the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services of Massachusetts, John Polanowicz, join us as 
we went through various sites throughout Massachusetts.
  We began at a YMCA in Greenfield. We had an event at the Pavilion at 
Silver Lake in Athol. We then went to the Spanish American Center in 
Leominster. We ended up at the Worcester Public Library in Worcester, 
Massachusetts.
  What we have learned is that it is important to make sure that these 
feeding programs are where kids are at. We have a program at the 
library in Worcester because kids come to the library during the summer 
months to read and partake of a lot of the activities in the library. 
We were in Greenfield at the YMCA because a lot of kids go to the YMCA. 
This program only works if the eligible kids can take advantage of it.
  While this has been very successful for those kids who have been able 
to take advantage of this program, nationwide, on average, only about 
18 percent of the kids who are eligible for free or reduced breakfasts 
and lunches during the school year actually take advantage of this 
program.
  Part of the challenge in the past has been that it has been difficult 
for families to be able to get their kids to the sites where food is 
given out. In Massachusetts, community leaders are working with USDA to 
make sure that they give out food at sites where kids are.
  In Massachusetts, we have seen the enrollment rate for the summer 
feeding programs actually increase. We are told, Mr. Speaker, that 
nationwide enrollment in this program has increased. But the fact of 
the matter is that still one child in seven who needs food in the 
summer isn't getting it. That means a whole bunch of kids aren't 
getting it.
  I would urge my colleagues to do what I did on Monday and go 
throughout your district to remind people that this program exists and 
to make sure that people understand how they can take advantage of 
this.
  I would urge those who are listening to go to USDA's Web site and 
learn more about this program. The Web site is usda.gov. Then look 
under the Summer Food Service Program. Learn about this program. Learn 
about how you can get your kids access to this program. Learn about how 
you can encourage other kids to get access to this program.
  Mr. Speaker, let me close by making this observation. We live in the 
richest country in the history of the world, yet we have close to 50 
million people who are hungry or food insecure, and 17 million of them 
are kids.
  We all should be ashamed of that fact. In this country, we should 
make sure that everybody has access not just to food, but to good, 
nutritious food. That is what this Summer Food Program is about. That 
is what the school feeding programs are about. That is what SNAP is 
about. That is what WIC is about. That is what these nutrition programs 
are all about. We should make sure that these programs are properly 
funded and that every eligible person takes advantage of them.
  Next year, this Congress will be reauthorizing the Child Nutrition 
Act. I would hope that we would learn from the best practices all 
across the country and implement them so that we

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have maximum participation. I want 100 percent of those eligible for 
these feeding programs to be enrolled.

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