We wish you a Merry Christmas and are sorry you are hungry...Facts of Child Hunger in America that Rick Perry should study if he wants to be President

•Nearly 14 million children are estimated to be served by Feeding America, over 3 million of which are ages 5 and under.

•According to the USDA, over 16 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2010.

•20% or more of the child population in 40 states and D.C. lived in food insecure households in 2009. The District of Columbia (32.3%) and Oregon (29.2%) had the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food.

•In 2009, the top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, & Texas. iii

•In 2009, the top five states with the lowest rate of food insecure children under 18 are North Dakota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maryland, & Massachusetts. iii

•Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children. 62 percent of client households with children under the age of 18 reported participating in the National School Lunch Program, but only 14 percent reported having a child participate in a summer feeding program that provides free food when school is out.i

•54 percent of client households with children under the age of 3 participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).i

•32 percent of pantries, 42 percent of kitchens, and 18 percent of shelters in the Feeding America network reported "many more children in the summer" being served by their programs.i

•In 2010, 16.4 million or approximately 22 percent of children in the U.S. lived in poverty.

•Research indicates that hungry children have do more poorly in school and have lower academic achievement because they are not well prepared for school and cannot concentrate.

•In fiscal year 2009, 48 percent of all SNAP participants were children

•During the 2010 federal fiscal year, 20.6 million low-income children received free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program. Unfortunately, just 2.3 million of these same income-eligible children participated in the Summer Food Service Program that same year.

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche! (Let them eat cake!) … all 1.4 billion of them…

World food prices are set to rise further. Farmers have faced floods, tornadoes, volcanoes and droughts. For example, widespread flooding in Australia decimated much of that nation's wheat crops. Buyers from Asia must now tap other markets to meet demand, further driving up prices – don’t look to the USA, US Dep of Agriculture has issued a report predicting a smaller Fall harvest.
This year’s USA corn harvest is expected to be off 305 million bushels and not meet the demand for bio-energy, livestock and export. A bushel is already priced at $7.75 up from $3.20 this time last year and headed toward $9.

Much of the growth in global nutrient use has come from developing countries in Asia and Latin America, as those regions' rising populations and income levels boost the demand for grains and meat, products that hadn't traditionally been part of their diets.

Meat prices are expected to rise a further 7% this year. They are already up 8% year on year.

But price hikes are not confined to meat, corn and wheat. In a basket of 16 common food items, the price has increased 8% year on year. Kraft, Kellogg, Sara Lee and Smucker have all increased their prices.

The G-20 meeting on 22-23 June in Paris will focus on global food issues. They are planning to launch an initiative called “Agriculture Market Information System.” This system would push countries to more honestly report on agriculture. For example, China has always been secretive about its stocks of food. So if China signs on, it would start to release more data about it food inventories and consumption.

So while the G-20 launch their monitoring system, I hope the 1 out 4 people (yes that’s 1.4 billion of us) on this planet who are starving today will truly appreciate their resolve & leadership in solving the hunger problem.

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