ATLANTA (September 21, 2015) | Sen. Renee Unterman (R – Buford) participated in the 2015 National Conference of State Leaders (NCSL) Legislative Summit on August 3 – 6 in Seattle, WA. During the 2015 Summit, she took part in several events hosted by the NCSL Hunger Partnership, which launched in 2010 to raise the visibility of hunger in America and highlight innovative solutions. This year celebrates the Partnership’s fifth anniversary, as well as Sen. Unterman’s fifth year serving as co-chair of the Partnership. The annual NCSL Legislative Summit is the nation’s largest educational gathering for legislators and legislative staff, and provides a platform for policy discussion and professional development.
“Hunger is a serious problem faced by nearly one in seven U.S. households. I am proud to lead a group so deeply committed to ending this crisis through innovative programs, open policy discussion and partnerships among state agencies. The working relationships created by this group over the past five years are truly remarkable. From SNAP call centers to improving school breakfast participation, states are banding together to end hunger across the nation,” said Sen. Unterman.
During the Summit, the NCSL Hunger Partnership met to review business matters and examples of innovative public-private partnerships that are addressing hunger issues at the state level. Legislators serving as members of the Hunger Partnership offer direction to state agencies who are looking to implement new programs, coordinate among agencies, or give funding to promising new initiatives. The NCSL Hunger Partnership reviewed the efforts of innovative programs and partnerships aimed at ending hunger in the United States, including supplemental nutrition assistance program partnerships, child nutrition partnerships, food distribution partnerships, healthy food access partnerships, as well as deterring fraud, waste and abuse in hunger programs.
Strategic alliances created by the Partnership and its affiliated support organizations across the nation include a SNAP assistance call center in Connecticut, a lunch and after-school meals program in Arkansas, a surplus food donation service in California, a food bank community wellness program in Louisiana, and a healthy cafeteria choices program in North Dakota. Farm-to-table and farm-to-school lunchrooms have also been studied and replicated throughout the country.
Since 2007, the number of United States families experiencing hunger has grown to more than five million. Although food insecurity rates are at an all-time high, academics, advocates and legislators all agree that hunger is a resolvable problem.
For more information about the NCSL Hunger Partnership, visit www.ncsl.org.
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For Immediate Release:
September 21, 2015
For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Director
Jennifer.yarber@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028