Washington Premiere of the Film:  Hidden in America'    

						 Release No. 0202.97
Remarks


                               of
              Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
      Washington Premiere of the Film:  Hidden in America'
		Washington, D.C. -- June 23, 1997

     Thank you, David [Beckman, Executive Director, Bread for the World].
I'm glad to be here today. I'd like to welcome to Washington all of you who
are here from across the country -- from America's communities of faith --
to make your voices heard on hunger. 

     I'd like to thank Matt Blank [Showtime CEO] and Showtime for
supporting quality programming that can help make a difference in people's
lives. And, I'd like to thank Jeff and Beau Bridges for giving us this
wonderful gift. This film is a portrait of human dignity ... of endurance
... of strong family values ... of self-reliance ... and of community.

     It does a lot of myth shattering.  Hidden in America' puts a human
face on hunger, and it's not the stereotype that many people conjure up in
their head. All too often, the human faces of hunger are the faces of
America's children. They are the faces of good, hard-working parents who
lost a job or lost everything to a family illness. They are the victims of
all-too-real human tragedies. 

     I sometimes think folks find it easier to see the stereotype of
America's hungry .... the alternative is much more difficult to accept. The
alternative is to admit -- as one character in this film does -- that
 there, but for the grace of God, go I.'

     The existence of hunger in this the most properous and agriculturally
abundant nation in the world is one of our great country's greatest shames. 

     One in three of our kids live in families that battle hunger --
whether it's missed meals the last few days before a paycheck, or skipped
medical appointments in favor of putting food on the table. These are
choices that no American family -- no family around the world -- should ever
have to make. 

     We have a responsibility to these families. We have a responsibility
to parents who want to work and earn a decent living -- if they can just get
the opportunity. And, we have a responsibility to our children. Hunger puts
our kids at risk of malnutrition and the lifetime of chronic illness that
can result. Our job is to offer them a brighter future. We owe it to all our
kids. Here in America, there can be no such thing as other people's
children.

     First and foremost, we need a strong federal commitment to fighting
hunger in America. 
                                
     At USDA, we do a lot of things.  We run the school lunch and breakfast
programs that make sure millions of children don't have to learn on an empty
stomach.  We run the Women, Infants and Children program which is now
reaching a record number of pregnant moms and newborns -- giving them the
nutrition they need for healthy lives. And, USDA's responsible for food
stamps,the federal entitlement that helps struggling families put meals on
the table.

     Without a doubt, the United States has the strongest federal anti-hunger safety net in the world. I can also tell you that it is not enough. 

     That's why we need groups like Bread for the World. That's why we need
people like Jeff and Beau Bridges, and companies like Showtime that
understand that they, too, have a duty. Teacher, business owner, cabinet
member, movie star -- we all have a responsibility to wage war on hunger.

     I believe -- if given the opportunity to make a real difference --
this is a fight the American people want to take on. In the coming months,
you'll see a concerted effort on the part of the Clinton Administration and
USDA to elevate the debate ..... to shift the human face of hunger to the
forefront of America's conscience ... and ultimately get more Americans to
do more than talk about the problem.

     One thing that I do in my spare time is food recovery. That's where
you go to a restaurant, cafeteria or grocery store and collect excess food
for food banks and community kitchens. They make sure that perfectly good
food gets to families who need it a whole lot more than that garbage
dumpster does. There can never be a replacement for strong federal anti-hunger programs, but we must find more ways to supplement them. We must
raise public awareness and roll up our sleeves -- each of us must become
part of the solution.

     For far too long, the existence of hunger has been  hidden in
America.' Together we can make sure America opens its eyes to the problem
and does something real about it.

     Thank you.

                                #

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