U.S. MUST TAKES STEPS TO ADDRESS CHILD HUNGER

In this land of plenty, plenty of problems exist in ensuring that young people are fed. A recent report the Community Hunger Identification Project indicated that 11.5 million American children under age 12 are hungry or at risk of hunger. It is a dismal statistic, especially considering the dilemma compounds itself with resultant developmental problems that arise in malnourished children. If governments are established to safeguard the common welfare, certainly it seems right for government to guarantee the nourishment of young people, the nation's most valuable resource.

Congressman Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau has, during his ten years in the U.S. House, been close to issues involving hunger in the United States; he is a ranking member of the Select Committee on Hunger and received the 1989 Presidential End Hunger Award for his work in combating the problem. While dismayed by the recent findings, he believes Congress has within its grasp some solutions to the problems defined in the report. He is sponsoring several pieces of legislation, including:

The Hunger Relief Act of 1991, which would bring nutrition assistance programs up to speed with today's costs.

The Freedom From Want Act, which would result in a 20 percent increase in participation in the Women, Infants and Children supplemental food program over the next five years. The increase would mean no eligible person would be turned away from the program by 1996.

The Consolidated Maternal and Child Health Services Act, which would combine a number of funds now in place to improve the health care of mothers and children.

The cycle of poverty is a vicious one. Many food assistance programs exist on various levels of government and people in need must be educated on how to utilize those programs. Cruelly, education is one of the casualties of an environment of hunger. Infants, born into a dire circumstance not of their making, suffer the most; 40,000 American babies will die before their first birthday, and 10,000 of those could be prevented with proper prenatal care and suitable nutrition.

If Congress can act on an energy policy that addresses the nation's natural resources, it should also act to guard the health of young people. Emerson's legislation seems like a good step in that direction.