USDA Summer Food Service Program

Floor Speech

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

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