DELAURO ON NEW REPORT “FOOD HARDSHIP IN AMERICA”

Shows 1 in 4 American families with children could not afford food in the last year

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) released the following statement on the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) report, "Food Hardship in America." The report details how Americans are struggling in these tough economic times, and the numbers are even higher for those families with children. In 2010, the food hardship rate for households without children was 14.9 percent; for families with children, it was 23.4 percent.

"This report highlights a shocking truth about the financial state of America: nearly one in four of families with children have experienced food hardship in the last year. Let me be clear— that means that millions of American children are going to bed hungry at night. This is unacceptable.

"Yet the Republican majority is continuing to cut funding for vital safety net programs such as the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and Commodities Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). These programs specifically help American women, children, and seniors in need from going hungry. But the majority has chosen to cut these programs in the name of deficit reduction, while maintaining tax breaks for the wealthy and continuing billions of dollars in subsidies to oil companies.

"These are not the right choices for America. We should not be cutting nutrition programs to pay for tax breaks for the rich. It is a failure of our responsibility to the American people, and I will continue to fight against these disastrous cuts."