This week, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) published a paper by Tom Freedman and me, "Ending Child Hunger in America" for their "Memos to the Next President" series. It presents a plan to enable President Obama to achieve his announced goal of ending child hunger in America by 2015.
This week, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) published a paper by Tom Freedman and me, "Ending Child Hunger in America" for their "Memos to the Next President" series.
See: http://www.ppionline.org/...
The paper presents a plan to enable President Obama to achieve his announced goal of ending child hunger in America by 2015.
The paper points out that, in the long term, a well-fed population performs better in school, works more productively, and spends less on health care. It demonstrates that efforts to end hunger now would also directly improve the economy faster than Bush’s 2008 stimulus package and streamline federal bureaucracy.
As families across the country sit down for holliday feasts, more than 12 million American children still go without enough food each year. The statistics are staggering:
In 2007, food inflation was at its worst level in 17 years;food prices rose nearly twice as much last year as the 15-year average; one in six children lived below the poverty line; 12.4 million children lived in households that could not always afford enough food; and nearly 700,000 of those children suffered directly from not getting enough to eat.
These are the latest statistics, but they do not even account for our economy’s more recent meltdown.
The latest in PPI’s Memos to the Next President series, "Ending Child Hunger in America," lays out a plan to wipeout childhood hunger while stimulating the ailing economy. We encourage President Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to end child hunger by 2015 by making changes that, in addition to ending hunger, would reduce federal bureaucracy; reward work; increase school attendance; incentivize state innovation; and stimulate the economy.
While President Bush’s stimulus package put money into the hands of many people who did not need it or did not spend the money immediately, increased spending on federal nutrition programs like food stamps would have much more immediate effects than rebates. Money would go to all those involved in growing, processing, shipping, and retailing food. In fact, Reagan advisor Martin Feldstein, Clinton administration treasury secretary Robert Rubin, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke all agree that increased federal spending on food stamp benefits is actually one of the fastest ways to stimulate the economy and can affect spending in just two months.
In the Memo, we illustrate the existing hunger crisis in America and outline the five steps that the next president can take to end hunger:
- Provide all children with a free school breakfast.
Only 20 percent of children eligible for free school breakfasts actually receive them, largely because of the logistical hurdles and the stigma of a breakfast "for the poor kids." Offering free breakfast in public schools to all children would ensure that every hungry child is fed without discrimination.
Pilot universal breakfast programs showed a decrease in absenteeism and visits to the school nurses, along with fewer children falling asleep in class.
Universal breakfast programs save time and money for the school district by reducing the paperwork and bureaucracy involved in processing the complex system of eligibility forms and income data used to qualify for the free breakfast program.
- Improve Program Efficiency and Accountability.
Food programs are currently so complicated that Americans struggling to eat often have to take time off work to even apply, reducing the number of eligible families who receive food. The tangled web of programs and separate applications end up costing the government bureaucratic time and money.
The federal labyrinth of food program applications should be streamlined into a single application for multiple programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); food stamps; school meals; and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Currently, food stamps pay barely $3 a day per person for food. The savings from a streamlined application process can be put towards improving the quality of food the programs provide.
The Secretary of Agriculture should be charged with responsibility for achieving quantifiable results in reducing hunger, showing this is a genuine priority of your administration.
- Support working Families.
Congress recently approved a modest hike in the minimum wage, but it does not match the booming inflation, resulting in low-income families’ continuing struggle to earn enough to eat as our economy worsens.
To ensure that all working families can afford to feed our nation’s children, we must first index the minimum wage to the rising cost of living. Second, we must expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and make sure that it offers men as well as women strong rewards for work.
- Reward Best Practices in the States.
State governments often serve as the testing grounds for innovative programs. The next president should establish programs to reward state innovation in combating hunger and improving nutrition. For example, the USDA could finance bonuses to the five states that show the greatest reduction in USDA measures of food insecurities and hunger. The bonuses would serve as an incentive to other states, and could be used to expand and improve anti-hunger programs in the winning states.
- Provide Real Ammo to the Armies of Compassion.
In May 2008, Feeding America, the nation’s largest food-bank network, reported an estimated 15 percent to 20 percent increase in clients. A staggering 84 percent of food banks were unable to meet the growing need due to a combination of increased demand, decreased government aid, and soaring food prices.
The next administration should encourage partnerships with these dedicated nonprofit groups who can increase the government’s reach with food distribution, training programs, Earned Income Tax Credit, and food stamps outreach, as well as other self-sufficiency programs.
In return, the government should provide assistance such as funding, technical aid, staff support, and surplus property and real estate.
PPI Plan to End Child Hunger