I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2717 
To reduce hunger in the United States by half by 2010, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 26, 2005 
Mr. OSBORNE (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To reduce hunger in the United States by half by 2010, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
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.
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.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) food insecurity and hunger are growing 
problems in the United States; 
(2) in 2003, more than 36,000,000 people, 
13,000,000 of whom were children, lived in house-
holds that were food insecure, representing an in-
crease of 5,200,000 people in just 4 years; 
(3) over 9,600,000 people lived in households in 
which at least 1 person experienced hunger; 
(4)(A) at the 1996 World Food Summit, the 
United States, along with 185 other countries, 
pledged to reduce the number of undernourished 
people by half by 2015; and 
(B) as a result of this pledge, the Department 
of Health and Human Services adopted the Healthy 
People 2010 goal to cut food insecurity in half by 
2010, and in doing so reduce hunger; 
(5)(A) the Healthy People 2010 goal measures 
progress that has been made since the 1996 World
Food Summit and urges the Federal Government to 
reduce food insecurity from the 1995 level of 12 per-
cent to 6 percent; 
(B) in 1999, food insecurity decreased to 10.1 
percent, and hunger decreased to 3 percent, but no 
progress has been made since 1999; and 
(C) in 2003, food insecurity increased to 11.2 
percent and hunger increased to 3.5 percent, so that 
the United States needs to reduce food insecurity by 
approximately 5 percentage points in the next 5 
years in order to reach the Healthy People 2010 
goal; 
(6) anti-hunger organizations in the United 
States have encouraged Congress to achieve the 
commitment of the United States to decrease food 
insecurity and hunger in half by 2010 and elimi-
nating food insecurity and hunger by 2015; 
(7) anti-hunger organizations in the United 
States have identified strategies to cut food insecu-
rity and hunger in half by 2010 and to eliminate 
food insecurity and hunger by 2015; 
(8)(A) national nutrition programs are among 
the fastest, most direct ways to efficiently and effec-
tively prevent hunger, reduce food insecurity, and
improve nutrition among the populations targeted by 
a program; and 
(B) the programs are responsible for the ab-
sence of widespread hunger and malnutrition among 
the poorest people, especially children, in the United 
States; 
(9)(A) although national nutrition programs are 
essential in the fight against hunger, the programs 
fail to reach all of the people eligible and entitled to 
their services; 
(B) according to the Department of Agri-
culture, only approximately 56 percent of food-inse-
cure households receive assistance from at least 1 of 
the 3 largest national nutrition programs, the food 
stamp program, the special supplemental nutrition 
program for women, infants, and children (WIC), 
and the school lunch program; 
(C) the food stamp program reaches only about 
54 percent of the households that are eligible for 
benefits; and 
(D) free and reduced price school breakfasts 
are served to about 1⁄2 of the low-income children 
who get free or reduced price lunches, and during 
the summer months, less than 20 percent of the chil-
dren who receive free and reduced price school 
lunches are served meals; 
(10) in 2001, food banks, food pantries, soup 
kitchens, and emergency shelters helped to feed 
more than 23,000,000 low-income people; 
(11) community-based organizations and char-
ities can help— 
(A) play an important role in preventing 
and reducing hunger; 
(B) measure community food security; 
(C) develop and implement plans for im-
proving food security; 
(D) educate community leaders about the 
problems of and solutions to hunger; 
(E) ensure that local nutrition programs 
are implemented effectively; and 
(F) improve the connection of food inse-
cure people to anti-hunger programs; 
(12) according to the Department of Agri-
culture, in 2003, hunger was 8 times as prevalent, 
and food insecurity was nearly 6 times as prevalent, 
in households with incomes below 185 percent of the 
poverty line as in households with incomes at or 
above 185 percent of the poverty line; and
(13) in order to achieve the goal of reducing 
food insecurity and hunger by 1⁄2 by 2010, the 
United States needs to— 
(A) ensure improved employment and in-
come opportunities, especially for less-skilled 
workers and single mothers with children; and 
(B) reduce the strain that rising housing 
and health care costs place on families with lim-
ited or stagnant incomes. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DOMESTIC HUNGER GOAL.—The term ‘‘do-
mestic hunger goal’’ means— 
(A) the goal of reducing hunger in the 
United States to at or below 2 percent by 2010; 
or 
(B) the goal of reducing food insecurity in 
the United States to at or below 6 percent by 
2010. 
(2) EMERGENCY
FEEDING
ORGANIZATION.— 
The term ‘‘emergency feeding organization’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 201A of the 
Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 
7501).