Congressman James McGovern from Massachusetts has become known as a prominent and active advocate against hunger during his time in Congress by making fighting hunger a cornerstone of his political efforts. He has said that food insecurity is not just a matter of having enough money or food but that the country's political divide and gridlock in Washington are the main reasons hunger and food insecurity have become such a problem in the United States today. "Hunger is a political condition," McGovern told a gathering at Greenfield Community College, organized with the Food Bank of Western Mass. "We have the resources, we have the infrastructure, we have the food, everything to end hunger in this country, except the political will. That's what makes this issue so maddening."
The message back at the FRAC conference back in March and one the coalition Vote to End Hunger stands by is that by building political will we can end hunger. This is a message that Rep. McGovern clearly endorses and it's important that other people in Congress are vocal about the issues as well. Federal nutrition programs play a vital role in ending hunger, and Congress should lend their support to these critical federal food assistance programs as well as raise the minimum wage in order to help end poverty that is at the root of the hunger problem.
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