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Many kids go hungry in summer vacation because they no longer have regular school meals.  Call Congress on June 23 and tell them “End child hunger this summer. Please take action now”. Less than 18% of low-income children who receive lunch assistance during the school year receive food assistance at a summer feeding site. We have the power to feed our children this summer, but let’s tell Congress to step up on June 23. Sign up to be part of our Promise read more…

Quality and appropriate pre-k programs should be available to all American Children.

Summer is not always  fun — many children in America are hungry. Summer meals programs exist, but they operate under  outdated regulations that stop their  effectiveness. As a result, we feed a fraction of the kids who are eligible, and in need.  Less than 2 1/2 million children are fed in summer vacation, but 22 million children receive free or reduced priced meals during the school year. Raise your voice this minute!  Sign this petition now, urging your federal Senator and Representative read more…

Those who believe in the sanctity of the fetus would be far more convincing if they included the miracle of a baby seeking knowledge. We have understood the importance of pre-k brain development for many years,  but we deny adequate funding for programs that teach parents and caretakers how to encourage this brain development with infants and toddlers. Many of our fellow citizens are bringing infants into the world without the parenting skills that they need, nor the money necessary to pay trained caretakers who read more…

Severe hunger in children can cause a  high death rate from infectious diseases.  Our food stamp program, started in the late 1960s ended malnutrition that had brought about infectious  diseases, and a high death rate. Prevention is the answer to ending hunger in the United States. We know how to win War on Poverty but we are in danger of ignoring the evidence. We are not an impoverished country like Haiti, Yemen, or South Sudan. We have no ongoing war as read more…

President Johnson initiated the war on poverty 50 years ago, but we have fallen into a war on the poor. We do not see that low-income working families and individuals are not paid enough to afford adequate food and market housing. Voters do not understand that subsidized food and housing, and full day preschool and grade school are essential for low-salaried families and individuals, who face homelessness and abject poverty without them.

Perhaps many of us are concerned about hunger and homelessness, and can remember times in our lives when we have cast a cold eye, or walked by a person, a parent or a child asking for help.

There is a lot to learn between birth and first grade and this does not happen automatically. While parents play a huge role in offering their children learning opportunities, preschool prepares a child for learning in a group in kindergarten. A child poorly prepared for kindergarten may lack the social skills, self-control, and other basic learning so that he or she can develop self-confidence and learn with others in first grade. Without preparation for first grade, a child may never catch up.

The goal of educational programs at any age should be to create an educational environment that fosters a love of learning and the confidence to ask questions and seek answers. If we do not use these early years to their fullest by requiring quality programs to begin the learning process, we have failed our children, and, in turn, our society. We must demand funding for quality early education, and hold schools accountable to provide it, or it will not happen.

Homelessness is a result of extreme poverty and lack of housing. No full-time minimum wage job is sufficient to pay for market rate housing. Because of this, many millions of families are on the edge of homelessness. 6 million more units of subsidized housing are needed to meet the present need.

1. Typically, a mother in her late twenties with two children, and
2. single mothers make up 84% of families experiencing homelessness.
3. Children in 42% homeless families are less than 6 years old, and
4. families experience higher rates of separation of family members to fin housing than those living at home.
5. More than half of homeless mothers dropped out of high school.
6. 29% of adults in homeless families are working.