WHAT ALLIANCE MEMBERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE HUNGER CRISIS

David Beckman, President of the Alliance to End Hunger and Bread for the World

Speaking at the U.N.'s High-Level Conference on World Food Security, Rome, June 5, 2008

“Farmer associations, neighborhood organizations, and religious institutions are often advocates for hungry people.  Local governments and hunger-focused institutions within national governments can be advocates for hungry and poor people, too.  The press and political parties have important roles to play.  But institutions that represent the interests of hungry and poor people need to be made much stronger than they are.  Political will does not just happen...political will needs to be built. ”

"The International Alliance Against Hunger has initiated or strengthened national alliances against hunger in more than 20 countries…But if the Rome agencies would provide additional funding for the International Alliance, they would leverage much larger changes in the politics of hunger.”

George Brailey, Senior Vice President, America’s Second Harvest

Testimony before the Senate Joint Economic Committee on May 1, 2008

“A survey conducted of food banks that provide services in the States and Districts of the Members of this Committee, found that 100% of respondents stated that they’re seeing more clients.  83% of the food banks responded that they are not able to adequately meet the needs of their community without having to adjust the amount of food or their operations.  Of those who stated that they could not meet demand, 37% have already, or are considering, reducing the amount of food offered at the food bank.”

“Today, in a period of rapid inflation, people run out of food stamps even sooner and many people turn to emergency food programs in their community such as food pantries supplied by our food banks. Unfortunately, when they turn to those resources today, they are finding less help than usual and much less help than they need.”

Testimony by Tom Buis, President, National Farmers Union

Testimony before the Senate Joint Economic Committee on May 1, 2008

“Food is not an optional commodity for anyone, regardless of income demographics. As a farmer from Indiana and a national farm leader, I find it appalling that anyone in America or the world goes to bed hungry. America’s farmers and ranchers have almost always produced a surplus of food commodities year in and year out. For the most part, food price increases are not about the lack of production, but other macro-economic factors including trade distortion, distribution and political decisions.”

Eva Clayton, Honorary Co-chair of the Alliance to End Hunger

Testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services on May 14, 2008

“How we address these issues going forward will speak volumes about us as a nation and our role within the global community. We must also develop the political will as world governments, civil societies, and the private sector to reduce world hunger. Empowering people in developing countries by investing in agriculture technology is an example of this political will.”

“The smallholder farms must play a key role in the global response to the current food security crisis.  The 2008 World Development Report on Agriculture and Development concluded that the ability to serve as the engine of economic growth and poverty reduction, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, “requires a sharp productivity increase in smallholder farming combined with more effective support to the millions coping as subsistence farmers, many of them in remote areas.” This can only be effectuated if significant resources are made in agriculture development to assist these farmers to be more productive.”

M. Peter McPherson, Chair of the Board, Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa

Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 14, 2008

“To deal with this situation there needs to be a recommitment by developing countries, international organizations and other donors to increase agriculture production and rural income in the developing world. About 75 percent of the worlds poor live in rural areas of developing countries, and these people need to produce more food. Africa is a major case in point. More than 60 percent of the people of Sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas and a large portion of those people are poor. It is clear Africa needs more agriculture production and income to feed its people and the world needs to increase food production and supply to meet an ever increasing demand.”

H. Eric Schockman, Ph.D., President, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger

Testimony before the California State Assembly on the impact of rising food prices on low-income families in California, May 15, 2008

“Low-income families’ struggles are harder in California than in many other states for a number of reasons, and one important reason is the high cost of housing here.  They are scrambling to minimize the pain, but with only modest success.  It is only modest success first because such very large numbers of people face these problems, and their numbers are growing, and the depth of their problems is growing, so that both family coping mechanisms and community and governmental systems are becoming overwhelmed. And second, because even food stamps don’t keep people up with inflation, so our most important anti-hunger program has rules under which people lose more ground the faster that food inflation is.”

For more information about the Hunger Crisis, go to the Resources page. 

For daily updates on Hunger in the News, go to Bread for the World’s website http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-in-the-news/.