Report: Ending hunger is achievable, but problems persist
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bread for the World says in a report entitled "Ending Hunger in America" that progress is being made toward achieving that goal by 2030, but it's being slowed by obstacles that need to be overcome.
Reverend David Beckmann, Bread for the World's president, says one example is Congress making a big cut in food stamps that will mean 300 million fewer meals for the needy this month. He says that's "no way to observe Thanksgiving."
Beckmann says the best way to end hunger is to create jobs "so that people can feed their families." But he says Congress must end automatic cuts and stop its brinksmanship because "the austerity and uncertainty of what Congress has been doing -- those things kill jobs."
Beckmann says bringing the unemployment rate back to pre-recession levels would reduce hunger in America by 25 percent.