WNC food programs endangered

The U.S. House and Senate are currently considering budget resolutions for the 2008 fiscal year that would leave minimal room for growth in federal food programs such as Food Stamps and WIC. These are the cornerstone programs for hungry Americans, and they provide food assistance to millions each year.

The budget resolutions begin the process of the Farm Bill reauthorization later this year. Reasonable funding for the Farm Bill is critical to MANNA FoodBank and our 348 member agencies—especially the 115,000 hungry people we serve in Western North Carolina each year.

More than 35 million Americans live on the brink of hunger. A disproportionate number live here in Western North Carolina. One in six of our neighbors is at risk for hunger—that’s twice the national rate. Now is the time to make investments that will reduce hunger in this nation and our community. At MANNA FoodBank, we believe everyone in WNC—and in the nation—should have enough to eat.

Join me in urging Congress to care for the people who are often voiceless in this great nation by adequately funding the nutrition title in the Farm Bill this year. You can take action today. Visit www.hungeractioncenter.org to send a message to Rep. Heath Shuler and Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, to let them know you want to end hunger in WNC. Let’s make certain that our neighbors do not go to bed hungry at night.

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