The recession has impacted more than half of the nation’s working adults, pushing them into unemployment, pay cuts, reduced hours. The emergency food safety net in Minnesota has responded to increased visits to food shelves, more students qualifying for free lunch at school, and a 33% increase in Food Support enrollment.

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For 35 years, the St. Louis Park Emergency Program (STEP) has provided food, clothing and other assistance to community members in need, including some Jewish families. After three moves in the past 18 months, STEP has finally settled into its new permanent home at 6812 W. Lake St.

Over 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket.

The Obama administration has pledged to end childhood hunger in the U.S. by 2015. Millions of kids cannot get enough to eat at home, and that number is going up, not down. NPR’s Pam Fessler and Share our Strength founder Bill Shore talk about childhood hunger and the tug of war between nutrition and frugality.

NPR

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee today passed bipartisan legislation to support children’s health and reduce childhood hunger by dramatically improving federal child nutrition programs. The Committee passed the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, H.R.

Today, the House Education and Labor Committee is marking up the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, which reauthorizes funding for the federal school lunch program, as well as WIC and the child and adult care food program.

One in three school-age children in Minnesota relies on free or reduced lunch programs for two-thirds of his daily calories and that figure is increasing.

Congress is expected to take rapid action to address the growing problem: The House Education and Labor Committee is having a hearing this week on the $8 billion “Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act.” One key Minnesota lawmaker has

38 million people are receiving food stamps, more than at any time in the program’s almost 50-year history.

Local, sustainable food is important, but it’s not always accessible or affordable, especially for low-income families. But that’s about to change for many Minnesota residents.

Live Green Twin Cities

House Holds First Hearing on Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill: Obesity, Hunger, School Food Safety All on Agenda

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio, a panel of food policy experts, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified yesterday before the House Education and Labor Committee on a pending, historic child nutrition bill.