April 16, 2011
Off to the side of the House of Representatives chamber, as his colleagues debated whether the state school budget was too small or fatally too small, Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, argued for the state spending some more money in another area. “I am going to fight to restore full funding for the Oregon Food Bank, and I’m going to argue with my colleagues,” said the freshman.
November 10, 2010
First lady Michelle Obama's campaign for healthier school lunches could be revived in Congress after two key Democrats said they will drop opposition to using funding from food stamps to pay for it.
September 27, 2010
As a child, I grew up in poverty. I understand hunger.
As I walked home from school, instead of thinking of my math assignment or dreaming about a career option to explore, I'd worry whether I'd find food on the table that night.
Unfortunately, my experience is all too common for children in our area.
July 3, 2010
Last week was the first full week of the federal summer lunch program, the national effort to deal with the seasonal disappearance of the school lunches, breakfasts and snacks that may provide half a kid’s diet.
June 17, 2010
More than 500 summer meal sites across Oregon serve neighborhoods where at least half the families live on incomes that are at 50 percent of the federal poverty level. This summer, with a record number of Oregonians receiving public assistance, they expect to be busy. Summer meal providers are also watching Congress for votes on the reauthorization, and possible expansion, of federal nutrition programs.
June 13, 2010
At 6'4", holder of the U.S. House of Representatives free-throw record and representing a state where for 40 years the NBA has been the only major-league option, Ron Wyden often sees things in basketball terms.
Sometimes, that's even a useful way to look at things.
"I go to summer basketball programs and see kids being fed," the Oregon senator said Thursday, "and some of them won't eat again until they come back the next day."
May 21, 2010
Child nutrition program advocates in Oregon are placing pressure on members of Congress to approve extending and boosting funding for five programs that provide thousands of children with nutritious food.
May 15, 2010
More than 700,000 Oregonians received food stamps last month, which means nearly one in five people in the state are relying on government help to buy their meals. The numbers -- the highest in the history of the program -- are well above the national average and suggest that families are still struggling financially.
May 14, 2010
While the big headlines out of Washington, D.C., trumpet the fallout from the oil spill in the Gulf, the debate over immigration reform and the qualifications of a Supreme Court nominee, a piece of housekeeping that affects the well-being of millions of children is quietly making its way through Congress.
Every five years, Congress must reauthorize federal child nutrition programs, which include federal school lunch and breakfast programs, summer food programs for schoolchildren, food programs for child and adult day-care operations and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC. Reauthorizing these programs might seem like a routine task, but it takes on extra significance when the economy is in recession. And past reductions in the scope of some of these programs mean they reach fewer children than they could or should.
May 12, 2010
In the office of the U.S. undersecretary of agriculture for nutrition is an Oregon state flag. It's bracketed by the flags of Maine and Iowa, mementos of the three places where Kevin Concannon was a high-ranking state official before taking over national oversight last year. But at the time when Congress is set to reauthorize federal child nutrition programs --the crucial elements in President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to end childhood hunger by 2015 --the flags are a reminder of how directly this office connects with people getting something to eat all over the country.
