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KUFM Commentary - February 2009 --------------------------------------------------------- Ending Hunger is and Investment in Our Future We've all heard a lot about our current economic situation lately. And we all feel we've been impacted in one way or another. The increase in the cost of food, and until recently, fuel, impacted all of us. Housing foreclosures and job lay-offs have attracted huge amounts of media attention. Although Montana has not been hit as hard as other states, for the 900 people who have lost their jobs and for those whose homes have been foreclosed —the impact is immeasurable. In tough economic times we are all forced to evaluate what we spend money on, and to prioritize our greatest necessities. For Montanans that have been struggling to get by with limited income, tough times and tough decisions are nothing new. Yet, the impact of rising costs and job loss on this group of people creates even greater, often catastrophic daily struggles. The Montana Food Bank Network just completed its 3rd study of hunger in Montana. The study was conducted by interviewing low income clients at emergency food pantries across the state. We found that clients pay for their most essential needs first and there is often little or no money left for food. It was often a painful choice between paying for food or for rent, fuel, housing, or medical bills. Record numbers of Montanans are making these choices today. In 2008, almost 100,000 clients sought emergency food—a number that is 30,000 greater than in 2006. At the same time, food donations were down by 18% in 2008. As a statewide food bank, we partner with 200 Montana agencies to distribute food to those in need. These agencies are struggling to meet the demand, and are forced to limit the size of monthly food boxes which may only last for 3 days. Many are forced to limit the number of visits a family can make, or reduce their hours. Some, finding empty shelves, have had to close their doors until a delivery of food from Montana Food Bank Network arrives. We need to work on slowing down this increased demand for emergency food. The Montana Food Bank Network has begun working with local communities to increase food security by utilizing the assets and resources that already exist. One major way to do this is to increase participation in public food programs. Did you know that only 43 kids eat school breakfast for every 100 that eat school lunch? The number of kids that have access to summer food is even fewer, and many low income families struggle to feed their children during the summer. We need to find more sponsors to start new summer food programs for these children. The Network is also pursuing legislation - HB212 to provide funding to purchase and transport at least 1 million additional pounds of food to emergency food programs per year. Of that at least 160,000 pounds would be food from local Montana producers. The bill also provides modest funding to expand community work toward long-term solutions. I urge you to contact your state Representative, and Senator to convince them of the needs Montanans are facing and request them to support HB212 sponsored by Representative Dick Barrett of Missoula and Senator Dave Lewis of Helena. Until a family's basic needs are met, hunger will persist. Basic needs include: Better paying jobs; affordable health care and child care; low-income housing; support for people on fixed incomes to be able to live independently; and the ability to pay for food, fuel, medical and rent. Ensuring that basic needs are met is critical, but will not happen overnight. HB360 would establish a State Earned Income Tax Credit. This is a critical step in the right direction, and I urge you to contact your legislators to support it. The economic and health impacts of hunger affect all states, communities and the nation. This fact is often overlooked by those who are not hungry. Research estimates that inadequate nutrition costs an estimated $90 billion per year in impaired educational outcomes and mental and physical illnesses. Hunger results in: A top priority of our legislators' should be to ensure that all Montanans have access to adequate nutrition to lead a healthy and productive life. On Wednesday last week, Senator Bob Story stated in his Response to the Governor's State of the States address that what we need to do in tough times is "to look out for our people and build for the future". Both he and the Governor stressed the importance of education and Senator Story said that we need "to think long term for our children". Hungry children cannot learn, and the result is lower productivity when they reach the workforce. Please urge your legislators to invest in solutions to hunger as a first step to investing in the future of Montana. To learn more please visit www.mfbn.org I'm Kate Bradford of the Montana Food Bank Network a member of the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO is a grassroots membership organization that's been building communities by linking people with sustainable agriculture and energy solutions for 35 years. If you'd like to get involved with sustainable food, agriculture or energy policy this legislative session, give us a call in Helena at (406) 443-7272.
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