http://childrensalliance.org,
http://clarkcountyfoodbank.org
State Sen. Craig Pridemore, 360-786-7696: http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/pridemore
On a day when millions were gorging on hot wings and more, a Clark County church sponsored a forum on childhood hunger, calling it the Souper Bowl.
And church members brought in cans of soup and cash and listened to a rabbi, a children’s organization executive and state Sen. Craig Pridemore talk about the challenges and realities of feeding the needy young.
“Everything is on the chopping block,” Linda Stone said of state dollars that match federal programs to feed children. Stone is the food policy director of the Children’s Alliance, a statewide group.
<a href="http://childrensalliance.org">http://childrensalliance.org</a>,
<a href="http://clarkcountyfoodbank.org">http://clarkcountyfoodbank.org</a>
State Sen. Craig Pridemore, 360-786-7696: <a href="http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/pridemore">http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/pridemore</a>
“A million people now in the state of Washington receive food stamps,” she told the crowd of about 75 at First Congregational United Church in Hazel Dell. A million means more than one in seven Washingtonians. Stone said there is a direct link between how children do in life — and school — and whether they are well fed. And it starts in the womb, she said.
She said her organization wants to “protect investments” made over the past two decades. Those efforts include school breakfasts, lunches, and summer and after-school programs.
Advocates for the programs say $3 million is at stake in Washington.
Rabbi Elizabeth Dunsker of Congregation Kol Ami in Clark County said her congregation is committed to helping fight hunger here and in Africa. She said her faith teaches to “emulate God’s behavior” and to “not abstain from helping.”
Pridemore was given the 2006 Outstanding Legislator Award from the Children’s Alliance for his work to eliminate the co-pay for reduced-price school breakfasts.
He said that dropping the requirement for youngsters to pay 50 cents meant “tens of thousands of kids were added” to the effort.
But Pridemore said of the Legislature’s budget responsibility, “There are not simple choices. … It has never been this bad.”
He noted that voters decided last November to no longer tax soda and candy, turned down the idea of heavier taxes on those who earn high salaries, and forbade the Legislature to impose tax increases without a two-thirds vote.
He praised faith-based organizations for helping fight childhood hunger. And he said we need “to rely more and more on organizations and neighbors helping neighbors.”
And while Stone of the Children’s Alliance said she understood the tough job of balancing the state’s budget, she said, “We think the state’s budget is about values. … We need to think about the future of our kids and put our kids first.”
She said that more than 31,000 children qualify for reduced-price school meals in Clark County.
Taking action
The Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt of First Congregational said 38 people from his church have registered for a bus trip to Olympia on Feb. 22. They will lobby for the Children’s Alliance on what will be called “Have a Heart for Kids Day.”
Clark County residents are helping and can continue to fight childhood hunger, Bill Coleman, a board member of the Clark County Food Bank, told the church crowd.
He said 3 million pounds of food were donated to the food bank in the last fiscal year. He said 37 percent of recipients are children. He said 10,000 emergency food boxes were distributed to Clark County families in December.
And he said the county’s Walk & Knock food drive is so successful, why not stage it once a quarter or even monthly? He said those who give could give often without sacrificing their lifestyles.
Berndt concluded the forum by saying, “People in this room want to give more.”
