Does the Senate Care About Ending Hunger or Not?

by Greg Plotkin · 2010-08-10 07:05:00 UTC
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In the immediate aftermath of the Senate's decision to slash food stamp funding by $6.1 billion, the legislative body passed also passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that will increase monetary allocations for the National School Lunch Program for the first time since 1973.

While the passage of the new child nutrition bill is an important victory for school lunch advocates everywhere, cuts to the food stamp program send a puzzling message about just how committed our leaders are to ending hunger in America once and for all.

The number of Americans receiving food stamp benefits reached an all-time high of nearly 41 million in May, the 18th straight month that food stamp enrollment has set a new national record. With more and more Americans needing emergency food assistance every month, how does it make sense to drastically reduce the funds devoted to the program?

In my opinion, the reason why school lunch reform has seen such success is that it has become a sexy issue with celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Alice Waters calling on legislators to improve the food served in the nation's cafeterias. In addition, First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative has shown that increased funding and support for child nutrition programs is at the top of the President's list of priorities.

Despite the fact that the food stamp program often benefits the same population that the recently-passed Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act serves (children), there is not one celebrity champion for the program.

To make matters even more confusing, the money that is being cut from the food stamp program is actually being used to pay for the increase in school lunch funding. As J.C. Dwyer, state policy director for the Texas Food Bank Network, has stated, "This is essentially robbing Peter to feed Peter's kids."

We cannot allow a swell in public support for school lunch reform to undermine a program that 41 million Americans rely on for survival every month. The Senate has simply shifted money from one program that feeds hungry children to another.

Photo credit: Scrumshus

Greg Plotkin currently works for Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY. He is dedicated to eliminating inequalities in who has access to healthy food and alleviating hunger.

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