House Rules Committee to Host Roundtable on Hunger Crisis

WASHINGTON – The House Rules Committee will hold a roundtable examining local innovations in combating hunger on Thursday, at 3:30 p.m.

The event is the fifth in a series of committee events highlighting the reality of food insecurity in America and examining the steps Congress and the Biden administration could take to equitably combat it. 

“Ending Hunger in America: Local Innovations to Inform a National Strategy” follows the recent committee roundtable, “Ending Hunger in America: Using Technology to Combat Hunger.”

“Local communities are on the frontlines of the hunger crisis,” said Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern, D-Mass. “We must be willing to think outside the box and look at innovations happening outside of the hall of Congress as we develop national solutions to solve it. I’m looking forward to hearing more about what’s happening in communities nationwide as we continue building a record to inform an eventual White House hunger conference.”

McGovern recently asked Americans to share their experiences, research, and possible solutions to help guide the committee in this work. He has also called for a substantive, policy-focused White House hunger conference to create the roadmap to end hunger by 2030, which the United Nations has called for.

Co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus, McGovern authored legislation which created the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program. 

Now in its third decade, McGovern-Dole aims to provide at least one nutritious meal a day to some of the world’s most vulnerable children in a school setting. It has reduced the incidence of hunger among school-age children, increased school enrollments and attendance, and increased the support of families and communities for education. 

He also founded the bipartisan Food is Medicine working group in Congress to highlight how critical healthy meals are for American families.