{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20131123003436/http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34&itemid=2337", "Wolf To McAuliffe: Prioritize Ending Domestic Hunger", "2013-11-19", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Frank Wolf", "W000672", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Jill Shatzen   (202) 225-5136  WOLF URGES GOVERNORS OF ALL 50 STATES TO PRIORITIZE ENDING DOMESTIC HUNGER  \u00a0  Washington, D.C. (November 19, 2013) \u2013 Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) today urged the governors of all 50 states to prioritize the issue of domestic hunger and food insecurity, laying out initiatives that have proven effective in his home state of Virginia and calling on each governor to adopt similar provisions in their states.  In letters to each governor, Wolf described how 49 million Americans \u2013 including 17 million children \u2013 are considered food insecure.\u00a0 While food donations will increase during the upcoming holidays, Wolf wrote, food banks and pantries typically have scant resources during the other 10 months of the year.  Wolf, who\u2019s provision to create a bipartisan national commission on hunger is currently moving through Congress, said programs like the \u201cGovernor\u2019s Bowl\u201d food and fund drive, the Legal Food Frenzy, the Feds Feed Families program and the Scouting for Food program have proven to be highly successful in Virginia, even breaking records for total pounds of food donated.\u00a0 In a separate letter to Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe, Wolf praised these past efforts and encouraged their continuation, urging McAuliffe to prioritize this issue as he begins to assemble his new cabinet.  Wolf also made suggestions for ways to combat hunger at no cost to taxpayers, including designating one staff member in the governor\u2019s cabinet to serve as the point on this issue; creating a one-stop Web site with real-time information about food shortages in each area; coordinating rolling food drives with friendly competition among businesses, schools, churches and civic groups; incentivize farmers to set aside land for gleaning; and educating the public about the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act, a law Wolf introduced which removes liability issues for schools so they may donate unused food.  \u201cThese are but a few examples that barely scratch the surface,\u201d Wolf wrote.\u00a0 \u201cThere are so many ways we can combat the pervasive yet solvable hunger problem that exists all over the country \u2026 I look forward to working with you.\u201d  For more on Wolf\u2019s work on this issue, click here.  For the full text of Wolf\u2019s letter to McAuliffe, click here.  The full text of Wolf\u2019s letter to all other governors is below.  Dear Governor,  As the holiday season approaches, more Americans become mindful of those in need of food because of our strong tradition of helping the less fortunate this time of year.\u00a0 Yet at a time when nearly 49 million Americans are food insecure \u2013 including 16 million children \u2013 we need to recognize the need for food donations throughout the year, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  No one should go hungry in America, the land of plenty and the world\u2019s wealthiest nation.\u00a0 A proposal is moving through Congress to create a congressional commission aimed at alleviating hunger in the United States.\u00a0 The bipartisan group would develop recommendations to encourage public-private partnerships and greater involvement from community and faith-based groups to reduce the need for government nutrition programs while still providing a safety net for the most vulnerable and hungry.\u00a0 The plan has been endorsed by Alliance to End Hunger, Bread for the World and Feeding America.  The federal government presently provides roughly 96 percent of the money spent on food assistance; private charities provide the rest.\u00a0 Given our nation\u2019s current fiscal woes, this is unsustainable.\u00a0 While it is important for the government to continue to provide a safety net for those who fall on hard times, the simple reality is that until we fully address our nation\u2019s exploding debt and deficit, further cuts to discretionary spending are all but inevitable.\u00a0 As you are aware, stimulus-level food stamp spending expired on November 1, which translated into a reduction of roughly $5 billion on SNAP spending for fiscal year 2014.\u00a0 These changes are independent of any potential fluctuations to the program that may result from those being considered by the Farm Bill conferees.\u00a0 This is already having an impact on food banks in my region, and I anticipate your state will see the same effects.  Today, I wrote Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe of Virginia with suggestions that would ensure food is distributed to those in need year round \u2013 at no cost to taxpayers.\u00a0   Several of these ideas could be implemented in your state as well:  \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Designate one person in your office to serve as the food bank/pantry coordinator so the food banks would have one point of contact who would be responsible for working with the food banks and pantries across the state.\u00a0 With the growing demand for food, it has become nearly impossible for food bank workers to do any outreach, so the point of contact would be charged with keeping the \u201cneed\u201d in the news. \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Have one of your agencies develop a central \u201cone-stop\u201d Web site for all food banks and pantries to provide information for donors, volunteers and clients, which would centralize information and provide a platform where people could learn more about needed items and how to get involved. It would also include contact information, links to each food bank/pantry\u2019s site, a summary of each food bank\u2019s unique services and needs, a map of where each food bank/pantry is located, and \u201creal time\u201d information on food shortages in each part of the state for churches, civic groups, the business community and the press to access. \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Pledge to end hunger by calling on all state agencies, schools, businesses, churches and civic organizations to commit to participating in a rolling food drive to re-stock the shelves of local food pantries.\u00a0 For example, schools could donate in the late winter, churches and civic organizations in the spring, businesses in the summer and state agencies in the fall.\u00a0 Currently, there is a large influx of food during the holiday season but shelves are often empty in the spring and summer months as people turn attention elsewhere.\u00a0 This would ensure a rolling system of food donations. o\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Have your Secretary of Administration develop a program for state employees similar to the highly successful Feds Feeds Families program that just this year collected a record-breaking 9 million pounds of food, up from 7.2 million in 2012. o\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Have your Secretary of Agriculture incentivize farmers to set aside land for the purpose of gleaning and allowing it to be qualified as a charitable gift, and have farmers set aside an acre of their land for the local Scout group to cultivate and then donate to an area food bank. o\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Have your Secretary of Education ask each school hold one or two food drives and donate unused cafeteria food to local food banks. o\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Have your Secretary of Commerce ask the Chambers of Commerce, major corporations and small businesses around the state to hold food drives, or \u201cadopt\u201d a local food bank.\u00a0 Honor those organizations that donate the most food and develop a marketing campaign to raise public awareness.\u00a0 If successful, this could become an annual event. \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Take a leadership role in educating schools about the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act, which protects schools from liability issues they used to fear if they gave away unused food, and allows donations of excess food to local pantries.\u00a0 In 2011, language that I authored was signed into law making this explicitly clear \u2013 schools can donate food without fear of liability.\u00a0 The purpose of the law is simple \u2013 keep excess school food out of the garbage and get it to our food banks \u2013 and it has already proven successful in places like the Blue Valley School District in Kansas, which has been leading the way with their innovative school recovery program that puts this law into action.\u00a0 A short video summarizing their efforts may be found at http:// wolf.house.gov/foodrecovery. \u00a0 Virginia has already had success with programs like the \u201cGovernor\u2019s Bowl\u201d food and fund drive, which has allowed business communities across the state to take part in a friendly competition aimed at helping meet the needs of local food banks and pantries during the summer months, when donations are typically at their lightest.\u00a0 The Legal Food Frenzy has produced more than 8.5 million pounds of food through the efforts of the Attorney General of Virginia, the Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association and the Federation of Virginia Food Banks.\u00a0 The Scouting for Food program is also extremely successful, and I regularly meet with local food banks and pantries to discuss their needs.   In the coming weeks, food drives will be held in offices, schools, churches and communities all over America.\u00a0 But as you know, families are in need during the other 10 months out of the year.\u00a0 They have scant resources after the holidays are over when donations stop coming in.   These are but a few examples that barely scratch the surface.\u00a0\u00a0 There are so many ways we can combat the pervasive yet solvable hunger problem that exists all over the country, and you should feel free to contact my staff in Washington if you would like more information.\u00a0 I look forward to working with you.  Best wishes.  Sincerely,  \u00a0  \u00a0\u00a0 Frank R. Wolf  \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Member of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131123003436/http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34&itemid=2337"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0107788257300854, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}