Appalachian Hunger Tour June 1-3, 2000

TRIP REPORT by Rep. Tony P. Hall

http://www.house.gov/tonyhall/

INTRODUCTION

Every day, we are inundated by stories of how well the United States' economy is doing. We are told that we have the lowest unemployment in decades, the longest-sustained growth in generations and record-breaking stock markets. But our economy is hollow. There are many people it is leaving behind; there are many pockets of poverty and neglect. Our foundation is not as complete and secure as we might think. If we scratch the surface, we find people who are truly hurting.

Last year the US Department of Agriculture released shocking statistics that showed 31 million Americans hungry or at risk of hunger - one out of every nine people in this richly blessed nation. That number has not diminished since 1995, despite our booming economy and the chimera of success many interpret from the decreasing welfare rolls. This sad state of affairs has been confirmed by research of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, America's Second Harvest, Catholic Charities, Tufts University and my own investigations. More and more Americans are turning to emergency food providers to stretch their fixed incomes, meager salaries or ever-declining public assistance benefits.

From June 1 to 3, I conducted my third domestic fact-finding visit to communities plagued by hunger in the past three years. I focused on hunger in the Appalachian region by returning to sites in southern Ohio I visited in 1998 and then venturing into eastern Kentucky and West Virginia at the invitation of constituents whose roots are there. I was joined for portions of the trip by my colleagues Rep. Ted Strickland (OH-6th), Rep. Bob Wise (WV-3rd), Ms. Joy Padgett, Director of Ohio Governor Bob Taft's Office of Appalachia, Ohio State Representative Joe Sulzer, and other state and local officials.

Our work was assisted by the Dayton-based Our Common Heritage, the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks, the Ohio Food Policy & Anti-Poverty Action Center, Southeastern Ohio Regional Food Center. Senior citizen centers and other community groups in Logan and McArthur, Ohio; Ashland and Louisa, Kentucky; and Huntington, West Virginia also lent us their help.

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