II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1120 

To reduce hunger in the United States by half by 2010, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2005 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. LUGAR, and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL

To reduce hunger in the United States by half by 2010, 

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO END HUNGER 

Sec. 101. Sense of Congress. 
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Sec. 102. Data collection. 

Sec. 103. Annual hunger report. 

TITLE II—STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY EFFORTS 

Sec. 201. Hunger-free communities assessment grants. 

Sec. 202. Hunger-free communities infrastructure grants. 

Sec. 203. Training and technical assistance grants. 

Sec. 204. Report. 

TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) food insecurity and hunger are growing 

4 problems in the United States; 

5 (2) in 2003, more than 36,000,000 people, 

6 13,000,000 of whom were children, lived in house7 holds that were food insecure, representing an in8 crease of 5,200,000 people in just 4 years; 

9 (3) over 9,600,000 people lived in households in 

10 which at least 1 person experienced hunger; 

11 (4)(A) at the 1996 World Food Summit, the 

12 United States, along with 185 other countries, 

13 pledged to reduce the number of undernourished 

14 people by half by 2015; and 

15 (B) as a result of this pledge, the Department 

16 of Health and Human Services adopted the Healthy 

17 People 2010 goal to cut food insecurity in half by 

18 2010, and in doing so reduce hunger; 

19 (5)(A) the Healthy People 2010 goal measures 

20 progress that has been made since the 1996 World 
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1 Food Summit and urges the Federal Government to 

2 reduce food insecurity from the 1995 level of 12 per3 cent to 6 percent; 

4 (B) in 1999, food insecurity decreased to 10.1 

5 percent, and hunger decreased to 3 percent, but no 

6 progress has been made since 1999; and 

7 (C) in 2003, food insecurity increased to 11.2 

8 percent and hunger increased to 3.5 percent, so that 

9 the United States needs to reduce food insecurity by 

10 approximately 5 percentage points in the next 5 

11 years in order to reach the Healthy People 2010 

12 goal; 

13 (6) anti-hunger organizations in the United 

14 States have encouraged Congress to achieve the 

15 commitment of the United States to decrease food 

16 insecurity and hunger in half by 2010 and elimi17 nating food insecurity and hunger by 2015; 

18 (7) anti-hunger organizations in the United 

19 States have identified strategies to cut food insecu20 rity and hunger in half by 2010 and to eliminate 

21 food insecurity and hunger by 2015; 

22 (8)(A) national nutrition programs are among 

23 the fastest, most direct ways to efficiently and effec24 tively prevent hunger, reduce food insecurity, and 
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1 improve nutrition among the populations targeted by 

2 a program; and 

3 (B) the programs are responsible for the ab4 sence of widespread hunger and malnutrition among 

5 the poorest people, especially children, in the United 

6 States; 

7 (9)(A) although national nutrition programs are 

8 essential in the fight against hunger, the programs 

9 fail to reach all of the people eligible and entitled to 

10 their services; 

11 (B) according to the Department of Agri12 culture, only approximately 56 percent of food-inse13 cure households receive assistance from at least 1 of 

14 the 3 largest national nutrition programs, the food 

15 stamp program, the special supplemental nutrition 

16 program for women, infants, and children (WIC), 

17 and the school lunch program; 

18 (C) the food stamp program reaches only about 

19 54 percent of the households that are eligible for 

20 benefits; and 

21 (D) free and reduced price school breakfasts 

are served to about 1 22 ⁄2 of the low-income children 

23 who get free or reduced price lunches, and during 

24 the summer months, less than 20 percent of the chil-
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1 dren who receive free and reduced price school 

2 lunches are served meals; 

3 (10) in 2001, food banks, food pantries, soup 

4 kitchens, and emergency shelters helped to feed 

5 more than 23,000,000 low-income people; 

6 (11) community-based organizations and char7 ities can help— 

8 (A) play an important role in preventing 

9 and reducing hunger; 

10 (B) measure community food security; 

11 (C) develop and implement plans for im12 proving food security; 

13 (D) educate community leaders about the 

14 problems of and solutions to hunger; 

15 (E) ensure that local nutrition programs 

16 are implemented effectively; and 

17 (F) improve the connection of food inse18 cure people to anti-hunger programs; 

19 (12) according to the Department of Agri20 culture, in 2003, hunger was 8 times as prevalent, 

21 and food insecurity was nearly 6 times as prevalent, 

22 in households with incomes below 185 percent of the 

23 poverty line as in households with incomes at or 

24 above 185 percent of the poverty line; and 
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1 (13) in order to achieve the goal of reducing 

food insecurity and hunger by 1 2 ⁄2 by 2010, the 

3 United States needs to— 

4 (A) ensure improved employment and in5 come opportunities, especially for less-skilled 

6 workers and single mothers with children; and 

7 (B) reduce the strain that rising housing 

8 and health care costs place on families with lim9 ited or stagnant incomes. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) DOMESTIC HUNGER GOAL.—The term ‘‘do13 mestic hunger goal’’ means— 

14 (A) the goal of reducing hunger in the 

15 United States to at or below 2 percent by 2010; 

16 or 

17 (B) the goal of reducing food insecurity in 

18 the United States to at or below 6 percent by 

19 2010. 

20 (2) EMERGENCY FEEDING ORGANIZATION.—

21 The term ‘‘emergency feeding organization’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 201A of the 

23 Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 

24 7501). 
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1 (3) FOOD SECURITY.—The term ‘‘food secu2 rity’’ means the state in which an individual has ac3 cess to enough food for an active, healthy life. 

4 (4) HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES GOAL.—The 

5 term ‘‘hunger-free communities goal’’ means any of 

6 the 14 goals described in the H. Con. Res. 302 

7 (102nd Congress). 

8 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

10 TITLE I—NATIONAL 

11 COMMITMENT TO END HUNGER 

12 SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that— 

14 (1) Congress is committed to— 

15 (A) achieving domestic hunger goals; 

16 (B) achieving hunger-free communities 

17 goals; and 

18 (C) ending hunger by 2015; 

19 (2) Federal food and nutrition programs should 

20 receive adequate funding to meet the requirements 

21 of the programs; and 

22 (3) the entitlement nature of the child and 

23 adult care food program, the food stamp program 

24 established by section 4 of the Food Stamp Act of 

25 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2013), the school breakfast and 
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1 lunch programs, and the summer food service pro2 gram should be preserved. 

3 SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The American Communities Sur5 vey, acting under the authority of the Census Bureau pur6 suant to section 141 of title 13, United States Code, shall 

7 collect and submit to the Secretary information relating 

8 to food security. 

9 (b) COMPILATION.—Not later than October 31 of 

10 each year, the Secretary shall compile the information sub11 mitted under subsection (a) to produce data on food secu12 rity at the Federal, State, and local levels. 

13 SEC. 103. ANNUAL HUNGER REPORT. 

14 (a) STUDY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

16 a study, and annual updates of the study, of major 

17 matters relating to the problem of hunger in the 

18 United States, as determined by the Secretary. 

19 (2) MATTERS TO BE ASSESSED.—The matters 

20 to be assessed by the Secretary shall include— 

21 (A) the information compiled under section 

22 102(b); 

23 (B) measures carried out during the pre24 vious year by Federal, State, and local govern-
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1 ments to achieve domestic hunger goals and 

2 hunger-free communities goals; and 

3 (C) measures that could be carried out by 

4 Federal, State, and local governments to 

5 achieve domestic hunger goals and hunger-free 

6 communities goals. 

7 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary shall de8 velop recommendations on— 

9 (1) removing obstacles to achieving domestic 

10 hunger goals and hunger-free communities goals; 

11 and 

12 (2) otherwise reducing domestic hunger. 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec15 retary shall submit to the President and Congress a report 

16 that contains— 

17 (1) a detailed statement of the results of the 

18 study, or the most recent update to the study, con19 ducted under subsection (a); and 

20 (2) the most recent recommendations of the 

21 Secretary under subsection (b). 
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1 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING 

2 COMMUNITY EFFORTS 

3 SEC. 201. HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES COLLABORATIVE 

4 GRANTS. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a public food pro7 gram service provider or a nonprofit organization, includ8 ing but not limited to an emergency feeding organization, 

9 that demonstrates the organization has collaborated, or 

10 will collaborate, with 1 or more local partner organizations 

11 to achieve at least 1 hunger-free communities goal. 

12 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not 

14 more than 50 percent of any funds made available 

15 under title III to make grants to eligible entities to 

16 pay the Federal share of the costs of an activity de17 scribed in subsection (d). 

18 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

19 the cost of carrying out an activity under this sec20 tion shall not exceed 80 percent. 

21 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 (A) CALCULATION.—The non-Federal 

23 share of the cost of an activity under this sec24 tion may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly 
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1 evaluated, including facilities, equipment, or 

2 services. 

3 (B) SOURCES.—Any entity may provide 

4 the non-Federal share of the cost of an activity 

5 under this section through a State government, 

6 a local government, or a private source. 

7 (c) APPLICATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

9 this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli10 cation to the Secretary at the time and in the man11 ner and accompanied by any information the Sec12 retary may require. 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

14 under paragraph (1) shall— 

15 (A) identify any activity described in sub16 section (d) that the grant will be used to fund; 

17 (B) describe the means by which an activ18 ity identified under subparagraph (A) will re19 duce hunger in the community of the eligible 

20 entity; 

21 (C) list any partner organizations of the el22 igible entity that will participate in an activity 

23 funded by the grant; 

24 (D) describe any agreement between a 

25 partner organization and the eligible entity nec-
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1 essary to carry out an activity funded by the 

2 grant; and 

3 (E) if an assessment described in sub4 section (d)(1) has been performed, include— 

5 (i) a summary of that assessment; 

6 and 

7 (ii) information regarding the means 

8 by which the grant will help reduce hunger 

9 in the community of the eligible entity. 

10 (3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 

11 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

12 entities that— 

13 (A) demonstrate in the application of the 

14 eligible entity that the eligible entity makes col15 laborative efforts to reduce hunger in the com16 munity of the eligible entity; and 

17 (B)(i) serve a predominantly rural and 

18 geographically underserved area; 

19 (ii) serve communities in which the rates of 

20 food insecurity, hunger, poverty, or unemploy21 ment are demonstrably higher than national av22 erage rates; 

23 (iii) provide evidence of long-term efforts 

24 to reduce hunger in the community; 
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1 (iv) provide evidence of public support for 

2 the efforts of the eligible entity; or 

3 (v) demonstrate in the application of the 

4 eligible entity a commitment to achieving more 

5 than 1 hunger-free communities goal. 

6 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 (1) ASSESSMENT OF HUNGER IN THE COMMU8 NITY.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity in a 

10 community that has not performed an assess11 ment described in subparagraph (B) may use a 

12 grant received under this section to perform the 

13 assessment for the community. 

14 (B) ASSESSMENT.—The assessment re15 ferred to in subparagraph (A) shall include— 

16 (i) an analysis of the problem of hun17 ger in the community served by the eligible 

18 entity; 

19 (ii) an evaluation of any facility and 

20 any equipment used to achieve a hunger21 free communities goal in the community; 

22 (iii) an analysis of the effectiveness 

23 and extent of service of existing nutrition 

24 programs and emergency feeding organiza25 tions; and 
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1 (iv) a plan to achieve any other hun2 ger-free communities goal in the commu3 nity. 

4 (2) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity in a com5 munity that has submitted an assessment to the 

6 Secretary shall use a grant received under this sec7 tion for any fiscal year for activities of the eligible 

8 entity, including— 

9 (A) meeting the immediate needs of people 

10 in the community served by the eligible entity 

11 who experience hunger by— 

12 (i) distributing food; 

13 (ii) providing community outreach; or 

14 (iii) improving access to food as part 

15 of a comprehensive service; 

16 (B) developing new resources and strate17 gies to help reduce hunger in the community; 

18 (C) establishing a program to achieve a 

19 hunger-free communities goal in the commu20 nity, including— 

21 (i) a program to prevent, monitor, and 

22 treat children in the community experi23 encing hunger or poor nutrition; or 

24 (ii) a program to provide information 

25 to people in the community on hunger, do-
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1 mestic hunger goals, and hunger-free com2 munities goals; and 

3 (D) establishing a program to provide food 

4 and nutrition services as part of a coordinated 

5 community-based comprehensive service. 

6 SEC. 202. HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES INFRASTRUCTURE 

7 GRANTS. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec9 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an emergency feed10 ing organization (as defined in section 201A(4) of the 

11 Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 

12 7501(4))). 

13 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not 

15 more than 40 percent of any funds made available 

16 under title III to make grants to eligible entities to 

17 pay the Federal share of the costs of an activity de18 scribed in subsection (d). 

19 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

20 the cost of carrying out an activity under this sec21 tion shall not exceed 80 percent. 

22 (c) APPLICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

24 this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli25 cation to the Secretary at the time and in the man-
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1 ner and accompanied by any information the Sec2 retary may require. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

4 under paragraph (1) shall— 

5 (A) identify any activity described in sub6 section (d) that the grant will be used to fund; 

7 and 

8 (B) describe the means by which an activ9 ity identified under subparagraph (A) will re10 duce hunger in the community of the eligible 

11 entity. 

12 (3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 

13 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

14 entities the applications of which demonstrate 2 or 

15 more of the following: 

16 (A) The eligible entity serves a predomi17 nantly rural and geographically underserved 

18 area. 

19 (B) The eligible entity serves a community 

20 in which the rates of food insecurity, hunger, 

21 poverty, or unemployment are demonstrably 

22 higher than national average rates. 

23 (C) The eligible entity serves a community 

24 that has carried out long-term efforts to reduce 

25 hunger in the community. 
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1 (D) The eligible entity serves a community 

2 that provides public support for the efforts of 

3 the eligible entity. 

4 (E) The eligible entity is committed to 

5 achieving more than 1 hunger-free communities 

6 goal. 

7 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use a 

8 grant received under this section for any fiscal year to 

9 carry out activities of the eligible entity, including— 

10 (1) constructing, expanding, or repairing a fa11 cility or equipment to support hunger relief agencies 

12 in the community; 

13 (2) assisting an emergency feeding organization 

14 in the community in obtaining locally-produced 

15 produce and protein products; and 

16 (3) assisting an emergency feeding organization 

17 in the community to process and serve wild game. 

18 SEC. 203. HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES TRAINING AND 

19 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

20 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec21 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a national or re22 gional nonprofit organization that carries out an activity 

23 described in subsection (d). 

24 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not 

2 more than 10 percent of any funds made available 

3 under title III to make grants to eligible entities to 

4 pay the Federal share of the costs of an activity de5 scribed in subsection (d). 

6 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

7 the cost of carrying out an activity under this sec8 tion shall not exceed 80 percent. 

9 (c) APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

11 this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli12 cation to the Secretary at the time and in the man13 ner and accompanied by any information the Sec14 retary may require. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

16 under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 (A) demonstrate that the eligible entity 

18 does not operate for profit; 

19 (B) describe any national or regional train20 ing program carried out by the eligible entity, 

21 including a description of each region served by 

22 the eligible entity; 

23 (C) describe any national or regional tech24 nical assistance provided by the eligible entity, 
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1 including a description of each region served by 

2 the eligible entity; and 

3 (D) describe the means by which each or4 ganization served by the eligible entity— 

5 (i) works to achieve a domestic hun6 ger goal; 

7 (ii) works to achieve a hunger-free 

8 communities goal; or 

9 (iii) used a grant received by the orga10 nization under section 201 or 202. 

11 (3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 

12 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

13 entities the applications of which demonstrate 2 or 

14 more of the following: 

15 (A) The eligible entity serves a predomi16 nantly rural and geographically underserved 

17 area. 

18 (B) The eligible entity serves a region in 

19 which the rates of food insecurity, hunger, pov20 erty, or unemployment are demonstrably higher 

21 than national average rates. 

22 (C) The eligible entity serves a region that 

23 has carried out long-term efforts to reduce hun24 ger in the region. 
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1 (D) The eligible entity serves a region that 

2 provides public support for the efforts of the el3 igible entity. 

4 (E) The eligible entity is committed to 

5 achieving more than 1 hunger-free communities 

6 goal. 

7 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use a 

8 grant received under this section for any fiscal year to 

9 carry out national or regional training and technical as10 sistance for organizations that— 

11 (1) work to achieve a domestic hunger goal; 

12 (2) work to achieve a hunger-free communities 

13 goal; or 

14 (3) receive a grant under section 201 or 202. 

15 SEC. 204. REPORT. 

16 Not later than September 30, 2011, the Secretary 

17 shall submit to Congress a report describing— 

18 (1) each grant made under this title, includ19 ing— 

20 (A) a description of any activity funded by 

21 such a grant; and 

22 (B) the degree of success of each activity 

23 funded by such a grant in achieving hunger-free 

24 communities goals; and 
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1 (2) the degree of success of all activities funded 

2 by grants under this title in achieving domestic hun3 ger goals. 

4 TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF 

5 APPROPRIATIONS 

6 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 title II $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 

9 2011.

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