Don't let Texas children go hungry
June 9, 2009
The image of the rich Texan overshadows the reality of poverty that stalks all sections of the state. Texas officials are reluctant to admit that people go hungry in a state that celebrates the richness and diversity of its food. Yet there is no denying Texans go hungry — especially children. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly one in four Texas children under 5 are what federal officials call food insecure — awkward nomenclature for not being able to count on a consistent supply of healthy food.
Written by Editorial, The Austin American Statesman
One of the biggest contradictions in a state that relishes its bigness is the poverty that belies the reputation for super-sized wealth.
The image of the rich Texan overshadows the reality of poverty that stalks all sections of the state. Texas officials are reluctant to admit that people go hungry in a state that celebrates the richness and diversity of its food. Yet there is no denying Texans go hungry — especially children. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly one in four Texas children under 5 are what federal officials call food insecure — awkward nomenclature for not being able to count on a consistent supply of healthy food.
The national average is just over 17 percent. Texas ranks fifth in the nation in this category.
According to that same study, 22 percent of Texas children under 18 live with food insecurity. The national average is also just over 17 percent, but in this category the Texas figure is the highest in the nation.
Even the most rugged of the rugged individualists would have to admit 5-year-olds have trouble finding jobs to pay for food.
School district free or reduced lunch and breakfast programs fill some of that gap, but the beginning of summer means the end of that food option for poor children.
For the second year in a row, a program spearheaded by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples aims at providing meals to children who might otherwise have to do without.
This year, Austin Mayor-elect Lee Leffingwell and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro are to join Staples in encouraging Texas mayors to increase participation in meals program at separate events scheduled for today.
Muncipalities, school districts and county governments may participate in the program by providing places for meals to be served.
"Mayors of Texas are in a position to improve the lives of children in their cities by generating awareness and working with organizations to feed hungry children. As Texans, we can and must do better," Staples said in a statement.
Federal money is used to pay for the program, and it is money well spent.
Politicians, in general, talk a lot about investing in the future, but action very rarely meets rhetoric.
This year, for example, Texas legislators booted on an opportunity to expand health care coverage for Texas children but didn't. Different legislators will give different excuses, but excuses don't pay medical bills.
Staples, Leffingwell and Castro at least are willing to make the children-first rhetoric reality.
No one is naïve enough to believe that one program will eliminate hunger, but the effort will at least mitigate it.
Missing a meal might not mean a lot if you are reasonably certain there's going to be another one. But if you're young and literally don't know where your next meal is coming from, one meal means a lot.
For a list of this summer's participating sites, visit www.squaremeals.org.
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