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A look at the human and political aspects of hunger in the United States.
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00:00Major funding for Frontline is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
00:06Additional funding is provided by this station and other public television stations nationwide.
00:13Tonight on Frontline, hunger in America.
00:17I have people right here on the list.
00:20They have 10 and 12 children in the family and that's not enough for a million.
00:25Everywhere we went, we saw hunger.
00:28Hunger has returned to America and is widespread.
00:32Why are these people hungry?
00:34And what should the government do?
00:37That's all I get for now.
00:40Tonight, the story of bread, butter and politics.
00:53From the network of public television stations,
00:56a presentation of KCTS Seattle, WNET New York, WPBT Miami, WTVS Detroit, and WGBH Boston.
01:07This is Frontline.
01:09Good evening.
01:16I'm Judy Woodruff.
01:17Tonight, the conflict between basic human needs and political realities.
01:22Hungry people, we've all seen the news reports.
01:25Bread lines, soup kitchens, men, women, and especially children.
01:30Compassionate people of all political persuasions want to know,
01:34Why does anyone go hungry in this country?
01:37What can be done to help?
01:39And does the government help or hurt the situation?
01:42Three separate commissions were formed to study these questions.
01:46They agreed on only one thing.
01:48There are hungry people in America.
01:51But after months of study, listening to similar testimony,
01:55with access to the same facts and figures,
01:58there was substantial conflict in their findings and recommendations.
02:01Why?
02:03Tonight, you will see those commissions in action.
02:06And you'll see how a complex and emotional issue like hunger
02:10gets caught in the political process.
02:12And whether, after all the debate and discussion,
02:16those in need are any better off.
02:19We call the program Bread, Butter, and Politics.
02:22It is produced by Chris Jeans and reported by Charlie Cobb.
02:31America is the most bountiful country in the world.
02:38Our farmers constitute only 2% of the population,
02:41but they grow so much food that we only eat half of it.
02:46The rest is sold abroad or stored.
02:49But despite America's great bounty,
03:00according to a recent Harris poll,
03:0123 million people in this country are hungry.
03:06Some people don't believe there's that much hunger in America,
03:09and the issue has sparked a sharp political debate.
03:1218 months ago, a group of doctors from Harvard University,
03:18led by Dr. Larry Brown,
03:20set out to examine the hunger question in detail.
03:25Basically, everywhere we went, we saw hunger.
03:28We would go into soup kitchens and see young children
03:31sitting there with their parents,
03:33and almost invariably,
03:35they were one or two years older than they looked to the physicians.
03:39Their teeth would be rotting out,
03:42or their hair would be coarse and not shiny,
03:46which is, again, a symptom of inadequate nutrition.
03:51We find that poor people stretch their food dollars
03:53as far as they can,
03:55but in doing so,
03:56because they by definition don't have enough of the right kinds of foods,
04:00they will eat all sorts of things which taste good,
04:02but in fact are not.
04:04They eat excesses of starches, carbohydrates,
04:09in order to fill their stomachs,
04:10but they don't get good quality foods,
04:13so that there's an apparent paradox there,
04:16where hungry people are fat,
04:18but indeed those people are some who are suffering the most.
04:21Our mandate developed by religious and social service agencies
04:26and emergency food pantries
04:28is to hold hearings in each New England state
04:31and to collect data and information
04:34to try to understand both the size of the apparent increase in hunger in our region,
04:41and at the same time to try to understand
04:43what, if any, are its health consequences.
04:45The Citizens' Commission on Hunger in New England
04:48was the banner under which the Harvard doctors investigated hunger.
04:52On your AFDC check, your welfare check,
04:55what do you get for four children and yourself?
04:57Over a period of 18 months,
05:00they made home visits,
05:01held public hearings,
05:02collected data,
05:03and conducted medical examinations.
05:06You said that she was born a little early.
05:08You said about two weeks or so,
05:10or even more, maybe.
05:11Looks like she's doing pretty well.
05:13How much does she weigh now?
05:13In the third world,
05:15we're used to seeing the baby with the big tummy,
05:19the children who have diseases called kwashiokor or marasmus.
05:24We don't have that in this country.
05:26What we have in this country is silent undernutrition.
05:30Lay people cannot often see the undernourished elderly people or the children,
05:33but a child who weighs 25 pounds and should weigh 35
05:38has a significant proportion of his or her weight loss,
05:43and that's a serious, serious problem,
05:46but oftentimes that just simply looks like a skinny child.
05:50While the doctors were conducting their investigation,
05:53President Reagan reacted to press reports
05:55and sent a memo to Ed Meese, his counselor,
05:58saying he was perplexed about persistent stories of hunger in America.
06:02He asked Ed Meese to establish a task force to examine food aid programs.
06:09I would like to begin our session by introducing the other members of the task force.
06:13The president's task force on food assistance was composed largely of persons
06:18sharing the president's outlook.
06:20Its chairman was Dr. James Claiborne LaForce, Jr.,
06:24dean of the Graduate School of Management at UCLA
06:26and an old ally of the president when he was governor of California.
06:31The executive director, John Razian, a former student of Chairman LaForce,
06:36is an economist at the Department of Labor.
06:39The one Democrat on the task force was Edward King,
06:43the conservative former governor of Massachusetts.
06:46Most task force members, like Betsy Bryan Rollins,
06:49appointed at the request of Senator Jesse Helms,
06:52were part of the conservative Republican network.
06:54The president's political opponents quickly made it clear
06:58they didn't trust the commission.
07:01If you're saying, do I expect recommendations
07:04that are going to really address that need in a meaningful way,
07:07I would say no, but I'll wait to see what the recommendations are going to be
07:12before I jump to a conclusion.
07:15I think that people should hold their judgments
07:17until January when we do our report
07:20and then make a conclusion as to whether or not we are a biased group.
07:26Because it will be the report that will speak for us.
07:29Senator Kennedy decided not to wait for the president's task force report.
07:33He set up his own commission.
07:35You have to make some hard choices between electricity and heat.
07:39Yes, don't you?
07:41Yes.
07:43All three commissions traveled around the country
07:46and they all heard much the same thing.
07:48It's really upsetting.
07:50It really is.
07:51Okay, well now, how much then do you figure that you have
07:54to feed the three children, yourself and your mother?
07:59Including food stamps or without food stamps?
08:01Yeah, including them.
08:02Okay.
08:04At the most, it'd be $60.
08:08Including food stamps.
08:09Is that $60 a month?
08:12Yes.
08:14Have you ever run out of food?
08:16Yes.
08:17When the president's task force held hearings in Kansas City,
08:21the responses of some witnesses were heeded.
08:23I have people right here on the list.
08:26While we're sitting here, don't even have a crust of bread.
08:30They have 10 and 12 children in the family
08:32and there's not a quart of milk.
08:35And hey, there's nothing to cook on,
08:37no lights, no gas, no water,
08:39for them to even go to the bathroom.
08:42I've been living in the state of Michigan since 1947.
08:46And I have never in my life seen such a damn mess
08:50and no answer to it.
08:52People going hungry, people on the streets,
08:56standing in food lines, wanting something to eat.
09:00And before I forget it, I just want to tell you
09:02that if you do make it back to Washington,
09:05you tell Reagan that.
09:07Well, he don't see him, but know it.
09:09Why?
09:10Why, I ask, do we have to suffer the embarrassment
09:13and degradation that accompanies the hungry times
09:16we face constantly?
09:18Why doesn't someone do something
09:20to rid this great country of ours of hunger?
09:23Shame on the government and shame on the state.
09:26We can help feed people in foreign countries,
09:29but we're not doing a very good job here.
09:31There's something wrong here.
09:33It's a different crop of people nowadays.
09:36It's not the derelict looking for food.
09:39It's the strong, able-bodied men and women
09:43that are out of work,
09:45not because they want to be out of work,
09:46because there's no work out there.
09:48It is not working anywhere.
09:50There's as many people hungry in Massachusetts,
09:54Connecticut, New Jersey, Mississippi, Alabama,
09:57as there is in Kansas City, and all of Kansas City.
09:59In brief, the message given all three commissions was simple.
10:03We are hungry.
10:05Senator Kennedy spent five days on the road.
10:09His conclusion?
10:11Much of the problem and much of the solution
10:13can be found in the same place,
10:16federal food programs.
10:17They are, in a sense, old programs.
10:21They are, in the best sense, liberal programs,
10:24and most of all, they are programs that are working.
10:29They showed that we could solve the problem of hunger
10:32not by throwing money at it, but by spending money on it.
10:37There is no such thing as fighting hunger on the cheap.
10:42After months of investigation,
10:44the Harvard doctors found a serious hunger problem.
10:47We made several findings.
10:48First of all, it's clear that hunger has returned to America
10:51and is widespread.
10:52Secondly, it's a growing problem.
10:54There's no indication that it's beginning to tail off
10:57as the economy reportedly gets better.
10:59In other words, we are still seeing an ascendancy
11:01of hunger.
11:04Thirdly, hunger is having an effect
11:07on health and well-being of people.
11:09We are seeing increases in malnutrition
11:11among certain population groups,
11:13particularly the most vulnerable,
11:14elderly and young children and infants.
11:18All in favor?
11:20Aye.
11:21Anyone who wants to vote?
11:21The president's task force traveled around the country
11:24for seven days and reached different conclusions.
11:28They acknowledged that there are some hungry people,
11:30but said they couldn't find out how many
11:32or whether their numbers are increasing.
11:35They were unable to determine the seriousness of the problem.
11:39Nevertheless, they found that federal food aid programs
11:42are adequate.
11:44Criticism of the report was instant,
11:46and one of the critics was himself a member of the task force.
11:50John Driggs, the former Republican mayor of Phoenix,
11:53was concerned that the report did not seem to reflect
11:55the evidence they had collected while on the road.
11:58My great concern about the report
12:00is that it does not seem to address
12:03the multitude of specific problems
12:07that were raised in hearing after hearing.
12:10When Dr. Brown heard the conclusions
12:12of the president's task force,
12:14he expressed dismay.
12:15It's difficult to know how people
12:17could come together in good faith
12:19and produce a document which says
12:22we don't know whether hunger is widespread or not.
12:25It's there, but we don't know if it's widespread.
12:27We don't know if it's growing.
12:29And we think that the budget cuts
12:31have not had any effect on it.
12:33It simply is not plausible.
12:35Other experts criticized the task force report,
12:38including the president of Tufts University in Boston,
12:41who served under Republican President Richard Nixon
12:44as chairman of his White House conference
12:46on food and nutrition and health.
12:48It was not a competent report.
12:50They did not know how to get the data.
12:53They did not know what programs had worked
12:56and hadn't worked before.
12:58And they produced a report,
13:01which I think is going to be basically,
13:06which is already forgotten.
13:08How was it that the president's task force report
13:10differed so radically from the investigation
13:12conducted by the Harvard doctors?
13:15In this report, we'll travel with both commissions.
13:18As we look at what they saw and what they didn't see,
13:21it helps to begin with the federal government's
13:23most important food aid program, food stamps.
13:28Then this food stamps department
13:30has to bring in so many verifications for everything.
13:34I think they'd rather feed computers
13:35than to feed the people.
13:37You know, we need to have less hearings
13:38and people need to be fed.
13:40This is really genocide and it's really got me upset.
13:45The food stamp program costs $11 billion a year.
13:48It helps feed 22 million people,
13:51including 10 million children.
13:53This last weekend, you know,
13:55we were down doing some shopping.
13:57We might have wanted to stop
13:58and have a Swenson's ice cream sundae.
14:01I've done it before,
14:02but we didn't do it because we couldn't.
14:04And, you know, when they have a hard day,
14:06you might want to have a glass of beer
14:08or if it's hot, you might want to have a Coke
14:10and you can't do it.
14:11The reason John Block missed his beer and ice cream
14:14is because last summer,
14:15he decided to show that a family of four
14:17could live all right on food stamps.
14:20He was under fire from critics
14:21who charged that the food stamp program was inadequate.
14:24As Secretary of Agriculture,
14:27John Block runs the food stamp program.
14:30So, with his wife and the media in tow,
14:34Block went shopping.
14:36He had $56.62 in his pocket.
14:40That's the top weekly rate.
14:42Most people get less.
14:45Mr. and Mrs. Block took the groceries
14:47to their home in a suburb of Washington, D.C.,
14:50and a week later,
14:51the Secretary pronounced the food stamp program
14:54worked just fine.
14:55I report that it is enough food.
14:58Poor people say, however,
14:59Block's excursion only proves
15:01that if you're rich enough,
15:02living on food stamps for a week is easy.
15:05What did he live on?
15:08What did he eat?
15:11He only lived on it a week.
15:13We have to live on it a month.
15:16Have him try living on it for a month.
15:19And then tell me how he made out.
15:22Yeah, anybody can manage on food stamps
15:23for a week,
15:25for one solid week.
15:26But try to do it a month,
15:28try to pay your rent
15:29when welfare department
15:31only gives you a certain amount
15:32of money for your rent
15:33and your landlord goes up $200 a month extra.
15:36You know, where do you get the extra money?
15:38You either pay your rent or starve.
15:40But what they give you,
15:41they give you for a month.
15:42And they, we, I sat down one day
15:45to figure it out
15:46and it came to $1 a day per person.
15:49And how do you give one person
15:51three meals a day on a dollar?
15:53It's very difficult.
15:55Well, they only last about two weeks
15:57and then you don't have any left.
15:58You know, you have to feed seven people
16:02for $248.
16:04It isn't much money.
16:05$248 a month for seven people
16:12means that Mrs. Kruger
16:13and each member of her family
16:15gets 39 cents per meal.
16:18She relies entirely on food stamps.
16:20But the program was set up
16:22to provide only supplementary food income.
16:25As a result,
16:26Mrs. Kruger, like many recipients,
16:28runs short toward the end of every month.
16:30More and more people,
16:34the president's task force learned,
16:36rely entirely on food stamps.
16:38Like us, there's eight of us.
16:41And we run out of food
16:43before the end of the month.
16:46And as God is my judge,
16:48the kids and us have had to eat
16:51canned turnip greens, tomatoes,
16:55anything that we had left.
16:57And I don't believe that's fair.
17:05After hearing much testimony on food stamps,
17:08the president's task force
17:10recommended a half-billion-dollar increase
17:12in food stamps.
17:14In other words,
17:15an increase of a penny per meal
17:16per person per day.
17:19The average for the food stamp program
17:21as a whole is 47 cents
17:22per person per meal.
17:24If you want to put things in those terms,
17:26it's just 1% of 47 cents.
17:30So it would be a number like
17:33a penny more per day,
17:36per meal, per person.
17:38The recommendation of the president's task force
17:41would increase food stamp assistance
17:44per person per month
17:47by less than 70 cents a month.
17:50It's laughable.
17:53We believe that the evidence shows
17:55that there has to be
17:55a 25 to 30 percent increase
17:57in food stamps
17:58for recipients
18:00because recipient households
18:01invariably run out of money
18:03the last third to a quarter
18:05of each month.
18:07It's judgment.
18:09And all you can say
18:11is that the greater amount
18:14allows an individual
18:16to more flexibility in diet.
18:19If people are hungry
18:21because they don't have enough money
18:22and you give them money
18:24which can only be used for food
18:25which is what food stamp bears,
18:27they stop being hungry.
18:28It's a dumb, simplistic answer
18:33but the fact of the matter
18:34is it has been shown to work.
18:36The Boston Food Bank
18:37The political debate over hunger
18:39is about how much the government
18:40should or should not do.
18:42President Reagan believes
18:43private agencies and charities
18:45should help feed the hungry.
18:47My testimony today
18:48is on behalf of the Boston Food Bank.
18:51When we opened our doors
18:53in May of 81
18:54in a new warehouse,
18:56we were able to distribute
18:571,000 pounds of donated food
19:00to 30 agencies
19:02that first month.
19:03Now, two and a half years later,
19:06we have 320 members
19:09and we will distribute
19:10close to 1.5 million pounds
19:14in this year alone.
19:21We're in the Boston Food Bank
19:22and this particular room
19:24represents a salvage reclaim program
19:27that we're doing.
19:28What we've done
19:29is to hook in
19:29with about 40 supermarkets
19:31in New England.
19:33Every week,
19:34these supermarkets
19:34glean all the dented cans,
19:36the slightly damaged package,
19:38the dirty things.
19:40They go to the Brockton Reclaim plant
19:43and they package it
19:43in banana crates
19:44and I would say
19:45we get between 10,000
19:46and 30,000 pounds
19:48of slightly damaged goods
19:50each week
19:50and our job here
19:51at the Food Bank,
19:52one of our many jobs,
19:53is to sort this salvage
19:54and as you see,
19:55put it in boxes
19:56by category
19:57to make it available
19:57to the agencies
19:58to shop.
19:59The 320 agencies
20:01are the local soup kitchens
20:02and food pantries
20:03which give the food
20:04to the poor.
20:06The Food Bank
20:07sells food to the agencies
20:08for only 10 cents a pound.
20:10That helps cover their cost.
20:13Over here,
20:14we have a representation
20:15of the other kind of donations
20:16that the Food Bank gets.
20:17I would say
20:18most of our donations
20:19come from the private food industry.
20:21People like Dan and Quaker Oats,
20:23General Foods
20:23and here we've got a pallet
20:25of each of the donors,
20:26say 20 this week
20:27at the Food Bank.
20:28All of this food
20:29gets donated
20:30not because it's
20:31inedible or spoiled
20:32but because there are
20:33some kind of processing
20:35or manufacturing
20:36or marketing glitches.
20:37A label may be
20:38on upside down.
20:40In these cases,
20:41the Quaker Oats
20:41is a really good example.
20:43When it's shipped
20:43to a star market
20:44or any supermarket,
20:45if it falls off the truck
20:47and gets slightly damaged,
20:48here's a good example.
20:51It got slightly squished
20:52but this is
20:53perfectly good to eat.
20:54A supermarket, however,
20:55will not accept it.
20:58To see for themselves,
21:00the President's task force
21:01visited this food bank
21:03here in Kansas City.
21:05The real reason
21:06that we received this
21:07is because they meant
21:08to package it
21:08in plastic bottles.
21:09The instructions say
21:10to squeeze on hamburgers
21:11and you'd be hard-pressed
21:13to squeeze this
21:13on anything.
21:15The growth of food banks
21:16all over the country
21:17is dramatic evidence
21:18that federal food aid programs
21:20aren't coping.
21:21In the last three years,
21:2480 new food banks
21:25have been set up
21:26in our major
21:26metropolitan areas.
21:28Originally designed
21:29to help people
21:30in extreme emergencies
21:31like floods or fires,
21:33today, food banks
21:35face a continuing emergency.
21:37One local agency
21:38told me the good news
21:39was their food supplies
21:42have doubled
21:42in the last year
21:43and they're delighted
21:43about that.
21:44But the bad news
21:45is the number of people
21:46which have been asking
21:47for food
21:47has quadrupled.
21:48So they're turning away
21:49half of all people
21:50who come to them
21:51asking for emergency assistance.
21:53The other fear
21:54locally in Kansas City
21:55is that it's no longer
21:56emergency assistance.
21:57It's being relied upon
21:58as income maintenance
21:59or food maintenance.
22:01In the past,
22:01we used to see people
22:02who truly had fallen
22:03through all of the cracks
22:04and now we're seeing
22:05more people
22:06who are relying on
22:07emergency food
22:09in quotes
22:09all the time.
22:11I would say
22:13the last three years,
22:16especially since
22:17Reagan's budget cuts
22:18have filtered down
22:20to the state
22:20and local level,
22:21we've been seeing
22:22unprecedented increases
22:23in hunger.
22:24Our pantries,
22:25places where they give
22:26groceries to families
22:27that just literally
22:28don't have anything
22:29in the refrigerator,
22:30those places
22:31in the last two years
22:32have reported
22:33between a 100
22:34and a 300 percent increase.
22:37In line with
22:38the president's view
22:38that private agencies
22:39should help feed the hungry,
22:41his task force
22:42recommended the government
22:43make it easier
22:44for corporations
22:45and farmers
22:46to take tax deductions
22:47for their charity.
22:49Private sector
22:50in our country
22:51is not set up
22:52to help run
22:54public food programs
22:55on sort of
22:57a pro bono basis
22:58and we were told
22:59over and over again
23:00by people in the industry
23:01that there was not
23:03much more
23:03that industry
23:04was likely to do
23:05and oftentimes
23:06could do.
23:08Private food assistance
23:09and we need
23:10to encourage that,
23:11make it more effective,
23:13can never substitute
23:14or take the heaviest
23:16burden
23:17from an effective
23:19federal food assistance
23:20program.
23:27The food collected
23:28in food banks
23:29is distributed
23:30to soup kitchens
23:31and food pantries.
23:33Mary Bralsford
23:35and Carolyn Remy
23:36have come to
23:36the Boston Food Bank
23:37from their soup kitchen
23:38in Quincy,
23:39a town eight miles
23:40from Boston
23:41to pick up
23:42their supplies.
23:43about two and a half
24:04years ago
24:05we began to see
24:06more and more
24:06of hunger,
24:08homelessness.
24:08I'm feeding people
24:11now.
24:11We come here,
24:13we volunteer
24:13to do this,
24:14we are not paid,
24:15none of the people
24:16that you see here
24:16tonight are paid,
24:17but it's very hard
24:19for us not to do this.
24:23I'm seeing mothers
24:24with children
24:24and more come
24:26all the time,
24:27but we try to make
24:28it as homey
24:30and as personal
24:32as we possibly can
24:34and let them
24:34keep their dignity.
24:35happy birthday
24:39to you,
24:40happy birthday
24:43to you,
24:45happy birthday
24:47dear Wendy and
24:49Jack,
24:50happy birthday
24:52to you.
24:55Nowadays
24:56in towns
24:56and cities
24:57across America,
24:58it's the new
24:59poor,
24:59unemployed workers,
25:00families,
25:01who come to
25:02soup kitchens
25:02in increasing numbers.
25:04They never thought
25:06they'd be reduced
25:07to such circumstances.
25:09To ease
25:10their indignity,
25:11Mary and her colleagues
25:12don't call this
25:13a soup kitchen,
25:14they call it
25:15a free restaurant.
25:17The kids think
25:17this is a restaurant,
25:19they call it
25:19their restaurant,
25:20they don't know
25:20this is a soup kitchen.
25:22We wouldn't tell them.
25:24Well,
25:25I first learned
25:26about Quincy Community
25:27Action Center
25:28when I lived
25:28in the town
25:29where I was put
25:30off in the street
25:30and I had nowhere
25:32to live.
25:33And Father McCarthy
25:34at the St. John's Church
25:36got us in a motel.
25:38Then we got an apartment
25:40and then we came here
25:41and they help us
25:42with food
25:42when we have no money.
25:44Me, my husband
25:45and my five children
25:46were sleeping in a car.
25:49I mean,
25:49the kids were so scared,
25:50they used to say
25:51they didn't know
25:51if they were going to
25:52wake up in the morning,
25:53you know,
25:53sleeping in the car.
25:55You know,
25:56we used to have to sleep
25:57like in Howard Johnson's
25:58parking lot
25:59or anywhere you could find,
26:00you know,
26:01where there was light
26:02and you knew
26:03they were open
26:03for protection
26:04that the police watched,
26:07you know.
26:09Now settled
26:09in an apartment,
26:11Mrs. Kruger
26:11and her family
26:12still don't have
26:13enough money
26:13to buy food.
26:15Her food stamps
26:16always run out
26:17before the end
26:17of the month,
26:18so they've been coming
26:19to the free restaurant
26:20for seven months.
26:22But today's visit
26:23is a first
26:23for Sherry Marcotte,
26:25who needs more
26:26than a meal
26:26and food.
26:27She needs
26:28a can opener.
26:29Sherry doesn't have
26:30a can opener.
26:30She doesn't have
26:31any food.
26:31She doesn't have
26:32a home.
26:33Up until this morning
26:35at nine o'clock,
26:35she was in the shelter.
26:37Well,
26:37I'm homeless.
26:38I can't find
26:39anywhere to live.
26:41I'm on the housing
26:42list right now.
26:43I'm number two
26:44on the priority list,
26:45which I should get
26:46an apartment
26:47in the next month
26:48or two.
26:49Get some
26:50more cereal,
26:50Leo.
26:51Homelessness
26:52and hunger
26:52are two phases
26:53of poverty.
26:55Sherry can be
26:56housed and hungry
26:56or homeless
26:57and fed.
26:58I couldn't afford
26:59to pay the rent.
27:02It was so much.
27:04And I only get
27:04$379.20 a month.
27:07And the rents
27:09they want
27:09are just
27:10$350,
27:11$375.
27:14I just don't think
27:15that
27:15the children
27:18should be hungry.
27:19And if we can
27:20break down an office
27:21and have a stove
27:22and feed them,
27:23then we will.
27:23And if people
27:24don't like it
27:25or if people
27:27think that we're
27:27not doing our job,
27:29you know,
27:29my staff works
27:3060 hours a week.
27:31But if we choose
27:32to do this,
27:32we're going to do it.
27:34But it's not going
27:35to solve anything.
27:36I know that.
27:37I don't know
27:38how many soup kitchens
27:39are going to go up
27:39before somebody
27:41stands and fights.
27:42I just hope
27:43what I'm doing now
27:44will make people
27:46think when they vote.
27:47Think about
27:48the other side.
27:49People who
27:50through no fault
27:51of their own
27:52are hungry
27:53and homeless.
27:53A little gravy.
27:54A little gravy.
27:57No salad?
27:58No salad.
27:58No salad.
27:59You want to roll?
28:00Please.
28:01My brother's table
28:02here in Lynn,
28:03Massachusetts,
28:04is a more
28:04typical soup kitchen.
28:06It does not
28:07call itself
28:07a free restaurant.
28:12It's open
28:13four nights a week
28:14and on Sundays
28:15for lunch.
28:16Tonight,
28:17only 160 people
28:18were expected.
28:19More than 240
28:20showed up.
28:21I think I know
28:22my money.
28:23I don't know.
28:25I don't know.
28:26Perhaps the most
28:27startling of these
28:28images of poverty
28:29is the presence
28:30of children
28:30among the unemployed,
28:32the deinstitutionalized
28:33and the alcoholics.
28:34every night,
28:37Jane Jalapa greets
28:38them outside.
28:39Are there
28:41how many more
28:42coming tonight?
28:42Three.
28:44So there'll be five
28:45of you all together?
28:46Yeah.
28:46Yeah.
28:47We just want to make
28:48sure you eat
28:49every night.
28:51Every night we're open.
28:52What about you?
28:53I see you here
28:54every night too.
28:55Yeah.
28:55I don't know.
28:56Yeah.
28:56Is your mom and dad
28:58having a hard time
28:59too?
29:00Yeah.
29:01It helps them
29:02to have you down
29:02here eating,
29:03doesn't it?
29:03They know you get
29:04a whole meal, huh?
29:05Yeah.
29:06Why doesn't your
29:07mother come?
29:07I didn't see them.
29:08She's embarrassed
29:09to come here
29:09and all these people.
29:11Yeah.
29:12But are you trying
29:13to talk her into it?
29:14Yeah.
29:15I'm going to try
29:16and ask her to come
29:16tomorrow.
29:17What do you have?
29:18Three.
29:18You have three kids.
29:19Yeah.
29:19There's two
29:20and that one over there
29:20was three.
29:21There's one more.
29:21How often do you come?
29:28Three times a week.
29:29Come.
29:30You come when
29:32you need to come.
29:33Yeah, when I don't
29:33have no food in the
29:34house though.
29:36Food stamps
29:37aren't enough?
29:38No, it's not.
29:38You know?
29:39It just lasts you
29:40two weeks, you know?
29:42And that's it.
29:46Why is the baby crying?
29:47She needs something
29:48to eat?
29:48Want something to eat?
29:50Yeah.
29:50She's hungry, huh?
29:52She wants fishing.
29:54No fishing.
29:55No fishing.
29:56So are these
29:57your two kids?
29:58No, this one
29:58and this one
29:59is my niece.
30:00And then this one
30:01is mine.
30:01My daughter
30:02hasn't swallowed
30:02her pride yet.
30:04Your daughter
30:05won't come?
30:07That's too good.
30:08She hasn't swallowed
30:08her pride yet.
30:13Father God,
30:14I thank you
30:15that you love us
30:16and that you
30:17sent your son
30:17for us
30:18and that you
30:19show your love
30:20to us in many ways.
30:22I pray you'll
30:22bless us as we
30:23eat this food
30:23and bless this food.
30:25Thank you for
30:26providing for us,
30:27Lord God.
30:27In Jesus' name
30:28I pray.
30:28Amen.
30:29Amen.
30:29Unaccompanied children
30:41are now regulars
30:42in the soup kitchens.
30:44Even when their parents
30:45are too embarrassed
30:46to come themselves,
30:47the children,
30:48knowing little shame,
30:49show up.
30:51This soup kitchen,
30:52the stew pot
30:53in Jackson, Mississippi,
30:55is run by local
30:56church groups.
30:57It's housed
30:58in a former
30:58gas station.
31:00It serves hot meals
31:01Monday through Friday.
31:03By popular demand,
31:04they decided to open
31:05on Saturdays
31:06for sandwiches.
31:08But today,
31:09some of the kids
31:10only got potato chips
31:11because they showed up
31:12too late
31:12for their sandwich.
31:13Do they come often?
31:16Very often.
31:17About 10 days
31:19of public.
31:2010 days,
31:22little weeks,
31:23just five years,
31:24five days.
31:26Five days!
31:28And what do they get
31:29for breakfast?
31:30Nothing.
31:31Nothing.
31:31When the task force
31:39visited Kansas City,
31:40they were guided
31:41by the mayor,
31:41Richard Berkley,
31:42himself a member
31:43of the task force.
31:45Not everybody
31:46in soup kitchens
31:46wanted to talk
31:47about food.
31:48I got two.
31:49How often do you
31:50get to eat today?
31:52They're very...
31:53Often, you know,
31:55like I say often,
31:56because see,
31:56right now,
31:57I got my man on a job.
31:58Yeah.
31:58I can't find,
32:01like I said,
32:01I can't find no job,
32:02but I just come on
32:04down here and eat
32:05and go back out
32:06and keep looking.
32:08Keep on looking
32:08at what I can do.
32:09I'll take anything.
32:11Anything come along,
32:12I don't care where it is.
32:14Hunger, recession,
32:15and unemployment
32:16are intimately connected.
32:18Men searching for work
32:19are found in soup kitchens
32:21from the deep south
32:22to the deep north.
32:25I've been out of work
32:25for about six or seven months.
32:28from Missouri,
32:30St. Louis.
32:31Went down to New Orleans
32:32to find some work
32:33couldn't find anything
32:34down there,
32:34so I came up there.
32:36Still looking.
32:44Yesterday morning.
32:45Ha-ha.
32:47Went down
32:48Westland Creamery,
32:50Coca-Cola,
32:52Pepsi and Chelsea.
32:56Went down
32:57to the GE.
32:58Everybody hauling.
32:59I've been down
33:00to, uh,
33:00on,
33:01down on the Linway.
33:05Can't get nothing.
33:07I need me a job.
33:09I want a word.
33:12I can't stand it.
33:14I can't stand
33:14being out of work.
33:16I can't take it no more.
33:17When the president's task force
33:28was in Jackson, Mississippi,
33:30they began the day
33:31having breakfast
33:31with the governor
33:32in his mansion.
33:33Good grits.
33:35Grits.
33:35Got some good grits
33:36and ham,
33:38eggs,
33:38good Mississippi breakfast.
33:40Beautiful home.
33:42Beautiful home.
33:42It's one of the oldest
33:44residents for governor
33:47in the whole country.
33:51Well, we've got
33:52five minutes
33:53to get started.
33:56It was the fifth day
33:57in a row
33:57the task force
33:58was on the road.
33:59They had just minutes
34:00to spare
34:01to make it
34:01to another hearing.
34:03Unlike Kennedy
34:04and the Citizens Commission
34:05on Hunger
34:05in New England,
34:06the task force
34:07never went
34:08to people's homes.
34:14Mississippi
34:15is the poorest
34:16state in the union.
34:17In Jackson,
34:18the poor
34:19are easily found.
34:20If the task force
34:21had visited Patricia
34:22the day they were
34:23in Jackson,
34:24they might have gone
34:24to the grocery store
34:25with her.
34:27I went to Joe's
34:28store when I bought
34:28a quarter of milk
34:29which was $1.88
34:30and local bread
34:33which was about
34:34$0.67
34:35and a bag of rice
34:38which was $0.87
34:39and the only reason
34:41I go there
34:41and get it
34:42is because
34:43I don't have
34:44any money
34:44and I go there
34:45and I'll still
34:46let me get it
34:47on credit
34:47until I can get
34:48some money
34:48to pay for it.
34:50Food prices
34:51at the local store
34:52are much higher
34:53than at the supermarket
34:54but like many
34:55poor people
34:56Patricia uses
34:57the local store.
34:58She has no
34:59transportation
35:00and her local store
35:01will give her credit.
35:03Credit is vital.
35:05Often times
35:06her refrigerator
35:07is empty.
35:09That's all
35:10I've got
35:10for now.
35:13Cologne
35:13cheese
35:14and butter
35:15two cans of milk
35:16and some lords
35:17so far.
35:22Well
35:22so far
35:23I've got
35:23some onions
35:24barbecue sauce
35:26sugar
35:27and milk
35:28and salt
35:30and ketchup
35:30Tabasco sauce
35:32and black pepper.
35:32Today
35:34Patricia
35:35three months
35:35pregnant
35:36had her usual
35:37breakfast.
35:38We ate some rice
35:39and gravy
35:40this morning
35:41and bologna.
35:43I eat
35:43whatever's left
35:44on the plate.
35:46Whatever they don't eat
35:47I eat.
35:49Like if they leave
35:50some rice
35:50and stuff
35:51on the plate
35:51then I take it
35:52and re-warm it
35:53and eat it myself.
35:53Every month
35:55Patricia gets
35:56$60 in assistance
35:57given to single mothers
35:59for child support
36:00and $139
36:01in food stamps.
36:04In Patricia's world
36:05hunger is the
36:06constant companion
36:07of poverty.
36:14Although the task force
36:16didn't visit anyone
36:17at home
36:17they heard from people
36:19who spend their lives
36:20among the poor.
36:21Mr. Chairman
36:22committee members
36:23my name is Dr. Aaron Shirley
36:26I'm a practicing
36:27pediatrician.
36:29We see
36:30at our clinic
36:30too often
36:31the empty
36:33refrigerator shelves
36:34towards the end
36:35of the month.
36:35we encountered
36:37a family of 12
36:38only yesterday.
36:39And how many children?
36:43Eight.
36:44Eight children.
36:45Do you get food stamps?
36:46Mm-hmm.
36:48Whose food stamp
36:48allotment usually
36:49runs out
36:50seven to ten days
36:51before the end
36:51of the month.
36:52Now
36:53after the food stamps
36:56run out
36:56about what part
36:58of the month?
36:59About the
37:00third week
37:01they run out
37:04on third week.
37:05and you have
37:06about a week
37:07before you
37:08don't have
37:08any.
37:09When we asked
37:10what do they
37:11do then
37:11the answer
37:12was
37:12the best
37:13we can.
37:14We asked
37:15if the children
37:15go to bed
37:16hungry.
37:17Do any of your
37:17children ever
37:18go to bed
37:18hungry?
37:20Yep.
37:21Sometime.
37:22As long as I
37:23got food stamps
37:24they don't.
37:25When my food
37:26stands
37:26run out
37:26they have
37:27to be hungry
37:27we don't have
37:28no other choice.
37:28there are times
37:30we were told
37:30the children's
37:32diet consisted
37:32of bread
37:33and water.
37:42Dr. Aaron Shirley
37:43has been taking
37:44care of very
37:45poor people
37:45in urban
37:46and rural
37:46Mississippi
37:47for nearly
37:4825 years.
37:49Back in the
37:50late 60s
37:51he took part
37:51in the now
37:52famous field
37:53foundation survey
37:54which revealed
37:55the extent of
37:56hunger and
37:56malnutrition
37:57in the nation.
37:58We found
37:59in many many
38:00areas
38:00especially in
38:01rural areas
38:02and in rural
38:02Mississippi
38:03hundreds of
38:05children who
38:05were overtly
38:07malnourished.
38:09Their growth
38:10was stunted
38:10they weren't
38:11growing.
38:12They had
38:13very little
38:14energy.
38:15Subcutaneous
38:16tissue was
38:17diminished.
38:19Many had
38:19the potbellies
38:20due to
38:21the weakness
38:22of the
38:23abdominal
38:24muscles.
38:25some
38:27children
38:27we saw
38:28actually
38:28were
38:29starving
38:30very slowly.
38:31Ten years
38:32later
38:32in 1978
38:34Dr. Shirley
38:35took part
38:35in a
38:35follow-up
38:36survey
38:36by the
38:37Field
38:37Foundation.
38:39The
38:39politicians
38:39were beginning
38:40to grumble
38:41about how
38:42much the
38:42food stamp
38:43program
38:43cost.
38:44They were
38:45considering
38:45cutting back.
38:47In 1978
38:48the doctors
38:48found something
38:49different.
38:51We found
38:51families
38:53and we
38:54did
38:54revisit
38:55the
38:55same
38:55communities
38:56and we
38:57found
38:57families
38:57who were
38:58just as
39:00poor.
39:01Many
39:01of them
39:01were
39:01even
39:02worst
39:02off
39:02in terms
39:03of income,
39:05living conditions,
39:06shelter,
39:07environmental.
39:09The homes
39:10were ten
39:11years
39:11older than
39:12they were
39:12when we
39:13saw them
39:13the first
39:13time and
39:14they had
39:14not had
39:15any
39:15repairs
39:16so they
39:16were
39:16actually
39:17worst
39:17off.
39:18But the
39:18children
39:19were not
39:20as hungry.
39:22They
39:22weren't
39:22as
39:22malnourished.
39:24And the
39:24only thing
39:24that had
39:25changed
39:25was the
39:26fact that
39:27the
39:28families
39:28had
39:28the
39:31benefits
39:31of
39:31food
39:32stamps,
39:33school
39:33lunch
39:34program,
39:34school
39:34breakfast
39:35program.
39:36More
39:36children
39:36were
39:37participating
39:37in
39:37head
39:38start
39:38and
39:38day
39:39care
39:40programs.
39:41And so
39:41the
39:41children
39:42were
39:42getting
39:42nutritious,
39:43a
39:44more
39:44nutritious
39:44diet
39:45and
39:46they
39:46were
39:46much
39:46better
39:47off
39:47nutritionally.
39:47Now,
39:49five years
39:49later,
39:50in 1983,
39:51Dr. Shirley
39:52is again
39:53reporting on
39:53the poor.
39:55In our
39:55clinic,
39:5670%
39:57of 5,000
39:58children
39:59certified
39:59annually
40:00for the
40:00WIC
40:01program
40:01have
40:02home
40:02dietary
40:03histories
40:04deficient
40:04in
40:04vitamin
40:05A
40:05and
40:05C.
40:07What
40:07we
40:07are
40:07seeing
40:08and
40:08hopefully
40:09the
40:09task
40:09force
40:10will
40:10be
40:11made
40:11aware
40:12of
40:12it
40:12is
40:12that
40:13there
40:13are
40:14more
40:14people
40:14in
40:15need
40:15of
40:16the
40:16benefits
40:17of
40:17the
40:17program
40:17there
40:19are
40:19more
40:20people
40:20who
40:20are
40:21poor
40:21now
40:21in
40:22terms
40:22of
40:22absolute
40:22numbers.
40:24Hunger
40:24has returned
40:25to our
40:25country
40:25because
40:26of
40:27three
40:27things
40:27coming
40:28together
40:28in a
40:28relatively
40:29short
40:29period
40:29of
40:29time.
40:30The
40:30first
40:30is
40:31that
40:31America's
40:31safety
40:31net
40:32has
40:32always
40:32been
40:32weak
40:33and
40:33it's
40:33gotten
40:33severely
40:34weaker
40:34over the
40:34last
40:35decade
40:35or so.
40:36Low
40:37income
40:37families
40:37now
40:38have
40:38over
40:38a
40:39third
40:39of
40:39a
40:39loss
40:40in
40:40income
40:40that
40:40is
40:41in
40:41real
40:42dollars.
40:42They
40:43have
40:4336%
40:47years
40:47ago.
40:48Second
40:48reason
40:49is that
40:49we
40:50had
40:50a
40:50very
40:50bad
40:51economy
40:51a
40:51very
40:51bad
40:51recession.
40:53We
40:53have
40:538
40:53million
40:53more
40:54unemployed
40:54people
40:55today
40:55than
40:55we
40:55had
40:56only
40:56three
40:56years
40:57ago.
40:57Unemployment
40:58is still
40:58higher
40:59today
41:00than
41:00it
41:00was
41:00three
41:00years
41:01ago.
41:01It
41:02got
41:02up
41:02to
41:02the
41:02highest
41:02since
41:03the
41:03Great
41:03Depression.
41:04The
41:04third
41:04thing
41:05is
41:05that
41:05during
41:06the
41:06time
41:07that
41:07these
41:07two
41:07factors
41:08were
41:08coming
41:09into
41:10play,
41:11we
41:12instituted
41:12the
41:12most
41:13severe
41:13budget
41:13cuts
41:14in
41:15nutrition
41:15programs
41:16in the
41:16history
41:16of our
41:17country.
41:17So
41:18while
41:18need
41:18was
41:18peaking,
41:19the
41:20response
41:20to it
41:21in fact
41:21was
41:22declining.
41:23According
41:24to the
41:24Congressional
41:25Budget
41:25Office,
41:26$12.3
41:27billion
41:27have been
41:28cut
41:28from
41:28federal
41:29food
41:29aid
41:29programs.
41:31Nevertheless,
41:31from the
41:32beginning
41:32of their
41:32investigation,
41:33Chairman
41:34LaForce
41:34appeared
41:35predisposed
41:35toward the
41:36view that
41:37budget
41:37cuts
41:37had no
41:38impact
41:38on
41:38hunger.
41:40It
41:40doesn't
41:40appear
41:41to be
41:41a
41:42significant
41:42impact.
41:45It's
41:45just not
41:46explainable
41:46by that.
41:48For him
41:48to argue
41:49that is
41:49like saying
41:50that unemployment
41:50has had
41:51no effect
41:51on hunger,
41:52poverty
41:53has had
41:53no effect
41:54on hunger.
41:55Clearly
41:55the budget
41:56cuts have
41:56had an
41:56effect
41:57on hunger.
41:57We have
41:58data which
42:01clearly shows
42:02a direct
42:03association,
42:03a direct
42:04link between
42:05budget cuts
42:06and hunger.
42:07When the
42:08task force
42:09announced its
42:09recommendations,
42:10Chairman LaForce
42:11still hadn't
42:12been persuaded
42:12otherwise by
42:13what he
42:14and the
42:14task force
42:15saw during
42:15their travels.
42:17He still
42:17denied that
42:18the Reagan
42:18budget cuts
42:19had any
42:19impact on
42:20hunger.
42:20We don't
42:21share the
42:22opinion that
42:23the modifications
42:26in the
42:26programs and
42:27the budgets
42:28have hurt
42:30those people
42:31who are
42:32in the
42:33poverty
42:34group.
42:34can you
42:41tell us
42:41anything
42:41about the
42:42changes
42:43you've
42:43seen in
42:43the
42:44children
42:44over time
42:44as you've
42:45worked with
42:45them,
42:45individual
42:46children?
42:46While the
42:47political
42:47debate over
42:48hunger is
42:48argued,
42:49the doctors
42:50on the
42:50Citizens
42:50Commission
42:51express concern
42:52that the
42:52increase in
42:53hunger has
42:53led to an
42:54increase in
42:55malnutrition
42:55and malnutrition
42:57in young
42:57children can
42:58lead to
42:58growth
42:59failure.
42:59A child's
43:01brain, you
43:02see, in the
43:02first several
43:03years is
43:04very, very
43:05much like a
43:06construction
43:07site.
43:08There is
43:08very fast
43:09building going
43:10on.
43:11In fact, 80%
43:12of brain
43:12development takes
43:13place in the
43:14first three to
43:14four years of
43:15life.
43:16And we have
43:17to be very,
43:17very worried
43:18about children
43:18who do not
43:19get adequate
43:19nutritional intake
43:21during this
43:22time of rapid
43:23brain development.
43:25We have
43:26evidence that
43:28there are
43:28significant
43:29numbers of
43:30children coming
43:30into Boston
43:31City Hospital
43:32who are
43:33malnourished.
43:34We conducted
43:35a study to
43:36determine whether
43:37or not a
43:38disproportionate
43:39number of
43:39children there
43:40were failing to
43:41thrive, were
43:41experiencing
43:42malnutrition or
43:42growth failure.
43:44And in fact,
43:45found out that
43:46we had about
43:46three times the
43:48number of
43:49children that we
43:49would expect to
43:50have in the
43:51lowest percentile
43:52of growth.
43:53So the answer
43:54to your question
43:54is yes, there
43:55is a definite
43:56and significant
43:58proportion of
44:00children who
44:00are being
44:00cared for at
44:01the hospital
44:02who are
44:02malnourished.
44:03On January
44:049th, Chairman
44:05LaForce cautiously
44:06told reporters
44:07his commission
44:08found no real
44:09evidence of
44:09malnutrition.
44:10One measurement
44:11of hunger would
44:12be the
44:12malnutrition.
44:14And there is
44:16no evidence
44:17of this in the
44:19country given
44:20the monitoring
44:21system that we
44:22have, which
44:23might be
44:23inadequate.
44:24for 10 years
44:26the federal
44:26government has
44:27had a program
44:28designed to
44:28prevent malnutrition
44:29in the young.
44:31The Women,
44:31Infants, and
44:32Children program
44:33known as WIC
44:34has been set up
44:35in clinics all
44:35across the country
44:36so that pregnant
44:37mothers and
44:38children can get
44:39enough highly
44:40nutritious food.
44:41At this one in
44:42Boston, Massachusetts
44:43the first two
44:44clients of the
44:45day were clearly
44:46in need of help.
44:47He is almost a
44:49year, he's about
44:50ten and a half
44:51months.
44:51He is just
44:5212 pounds,
44:5312 ounces today.
44:55An average boy
44:56would be 21
44:57pounds.
45:06It is 7 pounds,
45:0915 ounces, and
45:10his length is 20
45:11inches long.
45:12He has a
45:12measurement of a
45:13newborn baby.
45:15So he's two
45:15months old, he
45:16should be weighing
45:17at least 10 to
45:1812 pounds and
45:20being around
45:2122 inches long.
45:23So he's really
45:23under the standards.
45:25When she was
45:26pregnant, this
45:27mother was not
45:28on the WIC
45:28program.
45:30I really think
45:30she was malnourished
45:31because she didn't
45:32have all the
45:33nutrients she needs
45:33during pregnancy.
45:35She was lacking
45:36all the main
45:37nutrients that she
45:38needs due to
45:39the low income
45:41that she's receiving.
45:43There are 3
45:44million expected
45:45mothers or children
45:46that are taking
45:47advantage of that
45:48program.
45:486 million who
45:50are eligible who
45:51can't because the
45:53resources aren't
45:54there.
45:55And that is being
45:56replicated and
45:57duplicated all
45:59across the country.
46:01In their final
46:02report, the task
46:03force recommended
46:04the WIC program be
46:05refunded at its
46:06present level for
46:07another year.
46:08Of all the dumb
46:09ways to save money,
46:10not to feed children
46:11is just about the
46:12dumbest you can have.
46:14Not to feed pregnant
46:15women is the only one
46:16that's even dumber.
46:18There have been
46:18some good evidence
46:20showing that a
46:22dollar spent on the
46:23WIC program saves
46:25three dollars in
46:27health costs.
46:30Now the cost of a
46:31premature child being
46:33taken care of in a
46:34hospital is four,
46:35six hundred dollars
46:37a day.
46:37and it really
46:40doesn't take that
46:41many days of care of
46:42premature children to
46:44take care of the food
46:45bill for a lot of
46:46young pregnant women.
46:48The facts about hunger
46:50are not anecdotal,
46:52but overwhelming.
46:54There is clear,
46:56undeniable, and
46:57authoritative evidence
46:58of widespread and
47:00increasing hunger in
47:01America.
47:02In his report to the
47:03Senate, Senator
47:04Kennedy concluded
47:05that a new effort by
47:06Congress is essential
47:07if America is to
47:09fulfill its commitment
47:10to the hungry.
47:11The 16 steps I
47:12recommend in this
47:13report will cost
47:14approximately 2.5
47:16billion dollars a
47:17year, or only
47:18one-twentieth of the
47:2150 billion dollar
47:22increase the Defense
47:24Department is seeking
47:25for military spending
47:27in the next year
47:28alone.
47:29Senator Kennedy
47:30completed his
47:31investigation into
47:32hunger last Christmas
47:33and submitted his
47:34report to the
47:35President's task
47:36force.
47:36We have communicated
47:37to the task force
47:38our own findings and
47:39our own recommendations
47:40and we hope that
47:41they'll give some
47:42consideration to them.
47:44I haven't seen them,
47:45I haven't read his
47:46report, I have no
47:47comment.
47:47They were presented
47:48to the task force?
47:50Yes, but I have no
47:51comment on them.
47:53We have our report
47:53and it speaks for
47:55itself.
47:57Oh, I see, so you
47:57haven't paid any
47:59attention to his
48:00recommendation?
48:01I haven't read it,
48:01our staff has and
48:02some of our members
48:03have, and we feel
48:06it's very inadequate.
48:09On January 26th, the
48:11President's task force
48:12testified before a
48:13joint hearing of the
48:14House and Senate.
48:15By then, it was known
48:16that the task force had
48:18never traveled as a
48:19complete group, nor did
48:20the task force meet as
48:21a full body except
48:23twice, in the beginning
48:25to be sworn in, and at
48:26the end to vote on its
48:28final recommendations, and
48:30those recommendations were
48:31largely written by its
48:32staff in Washington.
48:34The result?
48:36To some congressmen, it
48:37seemed, the President's
48:38task force knew little
48:40more about hunger in
48:41America than when it
48:42began its investigation.
48:45You know, I know we
48:46talk about this
48:47difficulty of quantifying,
48:48and yet it seems to me
48:50that there are facts
48:52that are out there that
48:53are pretty clear for
48:54everyone to see.
48:55The commission itself
48:57referred to the food
48:58assistance programs that
49:00are currently active,
49:02food stamp programs
49:03serving some 21 million
49:05people in this country.
49:06The mayor's testimony
49:07that they found soup
49:10kitchens, the increase
49:11for demand of food in
49:12their areas, up 95%
49:14last year, and I think
49:1670% of the cities say
49:17it's on the increase
49:18this year.
49:20Isn't that the way you
49:21quantify the hunger
49:23problem right now?
49:25I mean, you're not
49:26going to have a test
49:27tube or a monitor in
49:28everybody's stomach in
49:29the country.
49:31That's certainly
49:32evidence that the
49:33system is responding
49:34to needs, yes, and
49:35it's evidence that
49:36people are receiving
49:36meals.
49:38It doesn't tell us how
49:39many people are not
49:39receiving meals.
49:42No, but doesn't it
49:43tell you that if that
49:43many people are
49:44dependent on that kind
49:45of program, that there
49:47is a serious problem
49:48in this country?
49:49It tells us we're
49:50having a serious
49:51recession.
49:52That certainly does.
49:54Did you approach the
49:55questions with
49:57preconceived answers?
49:58Did Mr. Meese or did
50:00anybody in the White
50:00House give you
50:01guidelines on any of
50:03your conclusions, or
50:04would you say that the
50:05conclusions that you
50:06reached represent a
50:08fair and impartial view
50:09of those at this panel
50:11without any White
50:12House pressure?
50:13Absolutely.
50:14I met with the
50:17White House people on
50:19one occasion before we
50:21had a session, obviously.
50:22They asked me to be the
50:24person to chair this
50:26task force.
50:28I met with them
50:28briefly.
50:30I saw Mr. Meese
50:31perhaps for five minutes,
50:33ten minutes, and have
50:36not seen him since.
50:38And I might say that I
50:43think that we were
50:44unfairly judged as being
50:46a group of conservative
50:49individuals from one
50:51persuasion who were going
50:53to come at this with
50:55preconceived notions.
50:56You say, what evidence is
50:59there of clinical hunger in
51:00our country today?
51:01The United States does not
51:03have the kind of continuous
51:04national nutritional
51:05monitoring system that
51:06could give us a complete
51:07answer to that question.
51:08And then you go on.
51:09We have been unable to
51:10substantiate the allegations
51:12of rampant hunger.
51:13We cannot report on any
51:15indicator that will tell us
51:16by how much hunger has gone
51:17up in recent years.
51:19And then you conclude that
51:20for the vast majority food
51:22assistance programs, efforts
51:23are available and sufficient
51:24for those who are able to
51:26take advantage of them.
51:27Well, as Mr. Panetta
51:29pointed out, there are some
51:30pretty good indicators that
51:32things have gotten worse in the
51:33last four or five years.
51:34It's a little bit like
51:35Justice Black once said in
51:36the famous decision on
51:37defining pornography.
51:38It's the same way as
51:39defining hunger.
51:40You know, they try to
51:41define it and Black finally
51:42said, well, I can't define
51:44it, but I know it when I
51:45see it.
51:46There is an unfinished
51:48agenda on this food
51:49assistance issue that the
51:52very fact that there seemed
51:53to be such a negative
51:55reception from those who
51:58deal most closely with the
52:01problem all over the
52:01country.
52:02Sure, they are advocacy
52:04groups, and perhaps that's
52:07their role, to keep the
52:10negative pressure on.
52:12But the fact that there was
52:14such a negative response, I
52:16think, gives us some
52:19indication that were we to do
52:21it again, we might approach
52:23it a little differently.
52:24I think it's very important to
52:26remember that the food
52:27programs of the United States
52:29were not some vague giveaway
52:31program worked out by leftist
52:33governments.
52:35The food programs in the United
52:36States were installed under the
52:38Nixon and the Ford
52:39administration.
52:40They were put together by a
52:43coalition which included the
52:46farmers, the food industry, the
52:49religious organizations, as well
52:51as unions and people interested in
52:54the poor.
52:56There was a very general
52:58recognition that it was a
53:00national outrage that we had
53:02too much food on the one hand
53:04and hungry Americans on the
53:05other.
53:06We can end hunger in six months
53:07in the United States simply by
53:09going back and using those very
53:11successful federal programs that
53:13virtually ended hunger in the
53:151970s.
53:16They worked extremely well, the
53:18WIC program, the food stamp
53:19program, the school lunch and
53:21school breakfast program, and the
53:23elderly feeding programs.
53:24These are bright spots in
53:26America's history.
53:28Government at its best, programs
53:29which actually worked.
53:31And simply by going back and
53:32strengthening those programs that
53:34have been weakened over the last
53:35three years, we could virtually end
53:37hunger in our country.
53:37The White House Task Force report on
53:47hunger was severely criticized.
53:49Both the National Governors
53:50Association and the U.S.
53:52Conference of Mayors rejected it as
53:54inconclusive and inadequate.
53:57Despite repeated requests by
53:58Frontline, no administration
54:01official was available for comment on
54:03camera for this program.
54:04But in its 1985 budget request, the
54:08White House asked for still another
54:10cut in food stamps.
54:12And since the Task Force report was
54:14issued after the budget proposal, the
54:17modest increase in spending on food
54:19programs, which the commission
54:20recommended, was not included.
54:23Recent public opinion polls show two
54:25things.
54:26Americans do believe hunger is a
54:28significant problem in this country.
54:30And they believe President Reagan's
54:33cuts in social spending have hurt many
54:35people.
54:36That perception has been called the
54:38fairness issue.
54:40And in this election year, it's a major
54:42concern for the President's campaign,
54:45along with arms control, El Salvador, and
54:47the federal deficit.
54:49So, in addition to the hunger task force,
54:52on each of these issues, the
54:53administration has also formed a
54:55commission.
54:56A commission to study the MX missile,
54:59the Kissinger Commission on Central America,
55:01and the Grace Commission on Government
55:04Spending.
55:05All have released reports supporting the
55:07White House, leading critics to charge
55:10the commissions were simply political
55:12maneuvers to justify existing administration
55:15policy.
55:16And perhaps because of the negative
55:18publicity surrounding the Hunger
55:20Commission's report, White House
55:22officials have now been quoted as saying
55:24that this particular task force was a
55:27mistake.
55:28Next week on Frontline, a story of
55:31communication between two superpowers
55:34at a very personal level.
55:37Three young American students go to Russia on a
55:40whirlwind tour.
55:41They debate the issues of war and peace, Soviet
55:48reaction to the Americans, laughter, questions,
55:53disbelief.
55:54But that is not right.
55:55That is not the way it is.
55:56Everything you are saying, that is not true.
55:59A rare glimpse of how we see the Russians and
56:03how they see us.
56:04We call the film A Journey to Russia.
56:10It is next week on Frontline.
56:13I'm Judy Woodruff.
56:14Frontline.
56:14Frontline.
56:15...
56:15Yeah.
56:15¶¶
56:45For a transcript of this program, please send $4 to Frontline, Box 322, Boston, Massachusetts, 02134.
57:04Frontline is produced for the Documentary Consortium by WGBH Boston, which is solely responsible for its content.
57:11Major funding for Frontline was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
57:18Additional funding was provided by this station and other public television stations nationwide.
57:24For video cassette information about Frontline, write to PBS Video, Box 8092, Washington, D.C., 20024.
57:41Frontline is produced for the Documentary Consortium by WGBH.
57:50www.WGBH.org
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