Farm Bill passes house

CHICAGO - America's Second Harvest- The Nation's Food Bank Network commends the U.S. House of Representatives for its passage of the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill passed by the House includes a strong nutrition title with $250 million a year in funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), with the amount indexed for inflation, and significant improvements in the Food Stamp Program. The vote was 318 to 106.

"We are feeling very optimistic today that relief may be in sight for the more than 35 million Americans living at the margins of hunger," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of America's Second Harvest. "With the current economic downturn and rising food and fuel process, this number is growing while food inventories are scarce. It is more critical now than ever that the U.S. Senate and President Bush enact this important legislation."

America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization, and its network of 205 food banks coastto coast are confronting three major challenges: (1) substantially reduced donations of federally purchased commodities; (2) a rise in the number of people seeking emergency food because of the declining economy, and (3) more recently, rapidly rising food prices that seriously undermine the ability to serve the increasing numbers of hungry people seeking help.

A recent survey of food banks nationwide by America's Second Harvest found that 99 percent of food bank respondents have seen an estimated increase in the number of people in need of emergency food assistance. The average increase reported was 15 to 20 percent in the number of clients served within the past year. Eightyfour percent of respondents indicated they are currently unable to adequately meet the increased demand without reducing the amount of food they distribute or people they serve. And, all of the participating food banks said their agencies are seeing families and faces they haven't seen before- working people who never thought they would have trouble making ends meet.

Federal nutrition programs funded through the Farm Bill, such as the Food Stamp Program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) are the first line of defense for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet and feed their families. However, federal funding for these programs has eroded since the passage of the last Farm Bill in 2002. Donations of food from the USDA bonus commodity program have fallen by more than 75 percent in the past four years, forcing food banks to spend more and more money buying food to meet demand. Last year alone, food banks spent more than $127 million on food purchases. Further, food stamp benefits,income deductions and other qualificationsfor assistance have not kept pace with inflation, nor do they accurately reflectrising household and living expenses, such as the price of gasoline, electricity or medicine.

"We need this new Farm Bill so that we can continue to provide assistance to the millions of hungry people arriving at our doors every day," said Escarra. "The Senate and President must move now. If they don't, the consequences for hungry Americans will be devastating."