A most rewarding moment for childhood hunger

On Monday, December 13, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law. I am pleased to share the following account from Lucreda Cobbs, Catholic Charities USA's Sr. Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, who was present at the signing:

In the advocacy world, it’s rare that you actually get to see the moment your hard work comes to fruition, but that’s how I spent my Monday morning. After months of emails, calls, Hill visits and Congressional briefings, I sat in the front row at The Harriet Tubman School and watched President Barack Obama sign the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law.

I’ll admit I’m occasionally prone to having “a case of the Mondays,” but getting ready for work that morning I realized I wasn’t having those moments of longing for an extended weekend. It was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time.

As part of Catholic Charities USA’s policy team, I have been advocating for passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act for months. Eliminating childhood hunger is central to our work at Catholic Charities to reduce poverty, and this legislation brings that goal closer to reality. While I knew our organization’s work had been important to eventual passage, I never imagined it would lead to an invitation from the White House to attend the actual signing!

As I dressed that morning I thought about the different Congressional members I might see there, what I would say if I actually met the President or the First Lady(!), but the person that would impact me the most that morning took me by complete surprise.

Sitting in the room that morning I found myself engrossed in conversation with Brianna. Brianna is nine years old and has been attending The Harriet Tubman School for five years, and this bill was passed for her. It was passed for her and for all of the children whose families struggle to feed them healthy nutritious food.

Getting to know Brianna and seeing many of her classmates who would also benefit from the legislation made me both happy and sad. I was blessed as a child to not know what it meant to go to school hungry. I was blessed to have three square meals provided to me every day (whether I liked what was being served or not). But finally, I was blessed to get to a point in my life where I am in a position to make a difference. So while I was sad to look around that room and know that these children face a struggle every day that I couldn’t possibly understand, I was happy to know that I had an ability to make a difference in their lives.

There was an air of excitement in that school on Monday. An understanding that this bill would make the lives of children across the country better. But as I left I couldn’t help but think, what’s next?

While the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act will help to feed over 30 million children, there is so much more work that must be done to help the millions of American families who are struggling in poverty throughout the country. While Monday morning was an opportunity to celebrate an accomplishment, it was also a time to recognize the tremendous work we have in front of us.

We continue to advocate for more efficient service delivery systems. We continue to advocate for a better way to assess the needs of those living in poverty and to address those needs in a holistic manner, rather than the piecemeal services those in need receive today. We continue to advocate for not only poverty alleviation services, but to recognize that things can be done to prevent those on the brink from even falling into poverty. There is so much to be done and Monday’s signing gave me the invigoration I needed to keep on advocating.

Brianna and her friends will see a better tomorrow as a result of Monday’s signing, now I will count my blessings and get back to work on better tomorrows for others in need.

- Lucreda Cobbs, Catholic Charities USA

Comments

[Jackie Waterin-Trough]

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_south_pinellas/pinellas_park/two-steppin-customers-of-waterin-trough-donate-truckloads-to-homeless

[Mato]

thugs. I thank God that the National Guard and other American soldiers reanfired from returning fire. Regardless, civilians are NOT qualified to perform Search and Rescure operations in hot zones even if the enemy are American thugs.* FEMA (and other Federal Authorities) *cannot* get involved until the Governor specifically requests it. This is a (potenitally legitimate) hold over from the Civil War. The LA Governor was probably too busy crying in press conferences to actually initiate these requests.* The State/Local authorities had the resources (aka buses) and the written plan to evacuate the city, but they failed to implement it even *before* communcaitions broke down. Instead, individuals stole the buses and rescued their neighbors. Theft is bad, but letting people die is worse.Now personally, I disagree with most of what Guiliani stands for but on 9-11 and immediately after, it seemed like he had things under control and *most* of the people working under him from the police precinct all the way up seemed to have a clue on how to operate somewhat independently. When he made public statements, he inspired confidence and managed to rally the men on the ground

[Hans]

KC,I still don't see what this has to do with empathizing with the poor, but I'll bite ahoynw. The government response was an utter failure by every metric I know of. If I had to choose a word to describe it, I would choose indifference. Before you claim that the failure is a sign of flawed liberal policy, consider for a moment the budgetary restrictions of FEMA in the past five years and the questionable credentials of the conservative appointed director of the agency. If that isn't enough, it is a curiosity to compare the prompt action surrounding the five hurricanes last year in Florida with this one incident. Doctors and aid worker testimonies paint a picture of disorder and apathy unrivaled by anything they have seen. I'll let other more skeptical people align these different events on the electoral calendar.

[Jakub]

When civil society beraks down, thugs and murderers rise up. The people of NOLA certainly decry the violence of these awful citizens who denigrate the city. BUT New Orleans is not full of people like that, many of the people evacuated were victims of these gangs of thugs. It is folly to ascribe to the whole city the actions of a few. Finally the fight for survival will bring out the worse in some people. I am so grateful to the Coast Guard who got it together early to save lots of people and the people who serve in the National Guard (and other branches) who convoyed into the city and offered hope to so many people who were simply following orders last week.

[Henryk]

No, I don't think you're sanctioning anhnyitg.I think the evacuation was a time/place where state/local government intervention was REQUIRED to serve and protect .This is the definition of the social safety net that Liberals scream for and the government has demonstrated once again that they are inept, incompetent, and generally unprepared to provide even that.This could have been a chance for government to shine instead hundreds and even thousands of lives were lost due to government inaction and incompetence.