John Edwards Campaign Issues Statement on Hunger in America

Presidential candidate and former senator John Edwards released a statement on increasing hunger in the United States, including some thoughts on the causes of it and how it can be reduced. The food assistance organization America's Second Harvest also made a press release on this subject.

According to a press release issued by the John Edwards For President campaign on Monday afternoon, former senator Edwards issued a statement on the subject of hunger in response to an Associated Press report about increasing demand at food banks alongside reducing federal assistance.

In the statement, Edwards referred to millions of hard-working American families who continue to go hungry, saying that President Bush ought to be "ashamed" that there are so many people who cannot afford enough food in the world's richest nation. Edwards went on to point out that housing, food, and healthcare costs have rapidly increased, causing more families to need the assistance of food banks.

He described the worsening situation, saying that donations and federal assistance to food banks have reduced and led to major shortages. This has made it necessary for food banks to decrease the size of food portions and prevented them from serving some people in need of their assistance. He referred to an increase in Americans facing hunger by about 2.3 million in the past seven years, attributing this change to the higher cost of necessities.

Edwards' statement went on to conclude that the United States must take efforts to eliminate poverty and help the middle class, as well as bringing about universal healthcare, increasing the federal minimum wage, and making unions stronger.

Meanwhile on Monday, the food bank organization America's Second Harvest issued a press release on the same issue, with additional details on the situation and a call for the Senate to pass a new Farm Bill which would increase assistance to food banks. The Farm Bill will provide over four billion dollars in funding to nutrition programs operated by the federal government, if passed. It indicated that food bank inventories are "rapidly dwindling" and have seen a seventy percent drop in federal assistance over the past few years.

According to the America's Second Harvest web site, the organization has a network of over two-hundred food banks which give assistance to over 25,000,000 Americans each year. The organization also distributes food through about fifty thousand local charities.

Sources:
1. John Edwards For President, http://johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20071119-hunger/
2. America's Second Harvest,
http://www.secondharvest.org/news_room/2007_press_releases/111907.html