Secretary Glickman outlined the new U.S. initiative to provide food for school children as a means of supporting international basic education and economic development. Just last week, I was honored to be the first U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to address the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. I went there because I believe that the United States must be a leader in international development efforts. It continues today, with our recent assistance efforts in North Korea, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya-areas devastated by drought and food shortages.
Food is the most basic of human essentials.
It is the first step toward empowerment and self-reliance. And all of us, working together, need to be innovative in finding ways to get food to those who need it to combat hunger, thereby promoting sustainable and self-reliant economic and social development in the areas that receive donations. In the United States, one of the ways we have attacked hunger is through early intervention, by feeding young children prior to and when they enter school. As many of you know, the School Meals program has been one of the greatest government successes of the 20th century. It serves about 27 million children a day, giving them the sustenance they need for alert and fertile minds that are ready for learning.