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New! - Hunger Message Project Post-Election Poll Results
Post-Election Poll - Results by religious affiliation - NEW!
Post-Election Poll: Half of voters live paycheck to paycheck as concerns about hunger rise - NEW! ___________________________________________________________________________________ Sen. Richard Lugar and Rep. Jim McGovern urge strong action on hunger New poll: Half of voters live paycheck to paycheck and concerns about hunger rise Washington, D.C., November 6, 2008 – Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) pushed for strong action to combat hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Alliance to End Hunger, Sen. Lugar and Rep. McGovern spoke to more than 100 hunger advocates from non-profit organizations, universities, faith-based groups and major corporations urging them to engage the new Obama administration and Democratic Congress on the issue of hunger. In his remarks, Sen. Lugar stated, “As we contemplate the policies of the next administration and Congress in a time of extreme economic uncertainty, we must remind ourselves that hunger has its own timetable. It does not wait for convenient political circumstances. In fact, it usually strikes when times are most difficult.” Rep. McGovern announced that today a bi-partisan letter signed by 116 Members of Congress has been submitted to President-elect Obama, calling on him to make hunger a top priority by designating a high-level White House position to design and implement a comprehensive strategy to fight hunger. “Anti-hunger initiatives fall under multiple jurisdictions, multiple agencies and multiple departments;” explained Cong. McGovern, “We need to coordinate those efforts. The point of this letter is to have one person responsible to come up with a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to end hunger -- somebody who will have the backing of the president, who will knock heads if necessary to make sure that the agencies work together.” Following their remarks, the Alliance to End Hunger presented the results of its new Hunger Project Post-Election Poll taken on November 4, 2008. The poll shows that a significant number of Americans are just one paycheck away from facing difficult choices about how to feed their families. Half of American voters (48 percent) report that they are living paycheck to paycheck. As the economic crisis continues to take a toll on American families, three in five voters report being impacted by high food prices, including one in five voters who worry that they or someone they know will go hungry. With more Americans struggling to put food on the table, voters are looking to the Obama administration and the Democratic controlled Congress to provide relief. Three in five voters favor a temporary increase in food stamp assistance as part of a new economic stimulus package. Three in four voters approve of Mr. Obama’s plan to reduce poverty and hunger through permanent tax relief for working families, expanding the earned income tax credit and raising the minimum wage. “As the economic crisis begins to bite, voters expressed their concern for feeding their families as well as their neighbors. In the best spirit of American generosity, voters are willing to help hungry people here and abroad, even if it costs more money,” stated Max Finberg, director of the Alliance to End Hunger. Thanks to the economic crisis and rapidly rising food prices, there are now almost one billion people around the world who don't know where their next meal will come from. Sixty-nine percent of voters are willing to dedicate an additional 1 percent of the federal budget to the needs of the world’s poorest people. Three in five voters are in favor of providing every hungry child in the world with at least one meal a day at school, even if it costs $3 billion.The Alliance to End Hunger poll was conducted by McLaughlin and Associates on Election Day, November 4, 2008. A random national sample of 1,000 voters was done by phone with a +/- 3.1% margin of error at a 95% confidence interval. More poll results at www.alliancetoendhunger.org. ### The Alliance to End Hunger engages diverse institutions in building the political will to end hunger by developing innovative partnerships among our members; political commitment among our leaders; and global connections among groups working to end hunger worldwide. The Alliance has more than 65 members -- corporations, individuals, universities, and non-profit and faith-based groups. www.alliancetoendhunger.org 2009 Hunger Message Project Post-Election Poll Results
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