Church World Service commends the new National Commission on Hunger report, Freedom from Hunger: An Achievable Goal for the United States of America. “This report is a sign of renewed focus and energy to fight hunger in the United States and a harbinger of the promise we believe ending hunger holds for our most vulnerable neighbors,” CWS President and CEO, the Rev. John L. McCullough said.
The ten-member National Commission on Hunger was created in 2014 by Congress with the mandate to use existing programs and funds to fight U.S. hunger and food insecurity and reduce the need for federal hunger-fighting programs.
“The unanimous nature of the Commission’s findings that hunger is both a serious issue and entirely solvable are positions CWS has taken for decades. Across the U.S., CWS organizes CROP Hunger Walks in over 1,200 communities to fight the daily and persistent hunger far too many of our neighbors struggle with,” Rev. McCullough said. “We know we can end hunger. Raising the profile of hunger as an issue important to our fellow Americans during a Presidential election year is an important step.”
The Commission held town-hall meetings across the U.S. and brought multiple viewpoints — including their own — into the creation of their final report. While the report only focused on working within existing programs and funds, CWS believes some of the pilot programs proposed hold promise and potential.
Overall, the report lays out 20 specific recommendations in six areas to reduce hunger. The recommendation for the creation of a new White House Leadership Council to End Hunger would build on the bipartisan nature of the Commission, ensure Presidential leadership and honor the historic Congressional commitment to fighting hunger. CWS commends incentives for the strengthening of public-private initiatives to reduce hunger.
The Sustainable Development Goals envision a world with zero hunger by 2030. CWS believes that achieving freedom from hunger in the U.S. is also key to achieving the global goals as adopted by the United Nations.
“We fully agree that the partnership of faith-based, government, business and other groups is the only way we can truly end hunger in the U.S. Strengthening and protecting SNAP and child nutrition programs is the right thing to do,” Rev. McCullough said. “Our faith calls us to end hunger. Let us work together to reach that goal in our lifetimes.”