May 24, 2005

Sample Hunger Awareness Day Proclamation

Whereas, no person in [community] should have to go hungry;

Whereas, 36.2 million (or 11.2% of) Americans lived in households unable to purchase adequate food, according to USDA data for 2003, the most recent period available;

Whereas, over one-third of those in hungry and food insecure households (13.3 million in 2003) are children;

Whereas, hunger has adverse consequences for all Americans, but particularly for children and mothers.

Whereas, hunger impedes growth and development;

Whereas, hunger is a significant predictor of adverse health conditions;

Whereas, hunger is associated with behavior problems among preschoolers and school-age children;

Whereas, Congress is considering cuts to the Food Stamp Program, which is the cornerstone of the nation's anti-hunger safety net;

Whereas, food stamp benefits are provided in the form of an electronic benefit card that can be used in supermarket checkout lines only for the purchase of food;

Whereas half of all food stamp recipients are children;

Whereas, 18 percent of food stamp households contain an elderly person and 23 percent contain a disabled person;

Whereas, over 95 percent of food stamp benefits go to households with incomes below the poverty level;

Whereas, food stamps make it possible for many working poor families to stretch their income so that it approaches the poverty level;

Whereas, food stamp benefits boost local economies, with each dollar in federal food stamp benefits generating nearly double that in community economic activity;

Whereas, the Food Stamp Program helps many individuals and communities hit by natural and man-made disasters;

Whereas, changes to the Food Stamp Program that reduce eligibility or benefits cannot be adequately replaced by food banks and other private charities, or by local communities suffering the loss of local jobs;

Now, therefore be it resolved, this National Hunger Awareness Day, June 7, 2005, that our nation should protect the Food Stamp Program against budget cuts or weakening structural changes.