Encourage State Innovations to End Child Hunger

States must be rewarded for improved performance in reducing child hunger.

Part of a Series

Idea of the Day

Idea of the Day

States must be rewarded for improved performance in reducing child hunger. Encouragingly, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced support for grants to states to bolster antihunger innovation, and the Senate Agriculture Committee included provisions to do so in its Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill. This program could, for example, reward Michigan State Superintendent of Schools Mike Flanagan for his Michigan School Breakfast Challenge and help other states replicate its success.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced a partnership on November 24, 2008, aimed at making Maryland the first state in the nation to end child hunger. O’Malley was cajoled to do so by the national hunger organization Share Our Strength. If Maryland’s efforts show early success they should be rewarded by USDA grants, which would encourage other states to follow suit.

For more on this topic please see:

Feeding Opportunity by Joel Berg

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.