Congresswoman Pressley Convenes Listening Session on Food Insecurity Ahead of Historic White House Conference on Hunger
Project Bread
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined Project Bread, advocates and local leaders in East Boston to hold a listening session on food insecurity on July 11. The session aimed to lift up the voices of those with lived experiences of food insecurity and to hear community solutions to this pervasive issue.
Among the people who shared their moving testimonies was a mother who could barely afford groceries for her children because she received very little federal assistance. Another panelist spoke about the numerous microaggressions they faced while applying for SNAP.
In addition, several advocates spoke about community organizations working to address food insecurity locally. Some solutions to food insecurity that were brought up at the session included treating it as a health issue and addressing it through healthcare, as well as highlighting the importance of access to school lunch and breakfast and the positive impact it has on families.
The event comes two months ahead of the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, this September. Congresswoman Pressley has submitted comments from the listening session to the White House in advance of the conference. The Conference will bring food insecurity into the national spotlight and lift up solutions to hunger at the federal level. Members of Massachusetts’ Congressional delegation, including Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Congresswoman Pressley helped lead the call for this conference–the first in over 50 years.
The event comes two months ahead of the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, this September. Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Congresswoman Pressley helped lead the call for this conference–the first in over 50 years.
Congresswoman Pressely stressed the importance of having everyone’s voices heard. President and CEO of Project Bread Erin McAleer expressed the importance of this event in leading up to the White House’s conference this September. “Today, thanks to Congresswoman Pressley's convening, we came together as a community to lift up the challenges of food insecurity and the innovative solutions happening right here to address it. The solutions shared today, from the innovative to the common sense, can serve as a national model for permanently ending hunger. We are so grateful to Congresswoman Pressley for listening to those most impacted by hunger, and for pushing these solutions at the federal level.”
President and CEO of Project Bread Erin McAleer expressed the importance of this event in leading up to the White House’s conference this September. “The solutions shared today, from the innovative to the common sense, can serve as a national model for permanently ending hunger.
Project Bread’s Victoria Martins stressed the importance of addressing food insecurity among children. Martins talked about Project Bread’s leadership of the Feed Kids Coalition to make universal school meals permanent in MA, “Kids should be able to learn, explore, and grow at school, free of worry about where their next meal comes from. A hungry child simply cannot learn.” The tireless advocacy of the Feed Kids Coalition has recently secured the funding for a one-year extension for our Free School Meals for All bill, now awaiting the Governor’s final signature, that will ensure that all students in the Commonwealth will have access to school meals without any additional costs or family burdens.
The panel made clear that while there are many community organizations working to address hunger at the local level, it’s critical for change to come from the national level as well.
We at Project Bread are thrilled that we have such a strong coalition to bring the issue of food insecurity to Washington, DC, and are grateful to have such passionate allies and champions in Congresswoman Pressley and Congressman McGovern. We recognize the historic opportunity that we have to discuss and bring about solutions to address the prevalent issue of food insecurity.