NEWTON - Ending hunger isn't just a matter of filling bellies, but making sure what goes in them is healthy.
Last night, Project Bread, the state's largest anti-hunger group, told local residents about how to wage war against a persistent foe.
The first battleground is schools, according to Ellen Parker, Project Bread's executive director.
Project Bread discovered that not only is it important to feed children breakfast in school every day, the quality of food provided also mattered, she said. "When you are talking about children who aren't getting enough to eat, every calorie counts," Parker told parishioners at Our Lady Help of Christians parish.
"About a half a million people in Massachusetts are 'at risk' for hunger and upward of 200,000 children live in the state with families that struggle to put food on the table," Parker said.
At risk for hunger means that sometime during the year, these households were uncertain of having enough food for all their members because they had insufficient money, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's official definition.
While Project Bread works with legislators across the state, Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, has focused on the quality of food children receive in school, according to Parker.
Koutoujian has filed legislation this session aimed at providing nutritional food to students and he seeks to eliminate trans fats from their school diet.
Several people on hand echoed Parker's emphasis on school nutrition.
"We don't have a problem with the state funding schools and public transportation, I don't see why the state can't pay to feed hungry children," Matt Watkins of Newton said.
Bill Larkin of Natick said there is a connection between children receiving consistently healthy food and their ability to learn and eventually get a job.
Parishioners also tried reflect on hunger as a problem in a larger context.
"When you think of hunger as a public health issue, you think of it as a community issue that everyone needs to help with," Larkin said.
Low-income people and families buy filling, but less nutritious and cheaper items such as pasta and processed foods rather than more expensive, but healthier foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, said Parker.
"People aren't going hungry in this country and in Massachusetts because there isn't enough food, they are going hungry because they don't have enough money," Parker said.
"We need some sort of economic solution, so that families are no longer hungry," Ann Capoccia of Newton said.
Ultimately, Project Bread recommended that there are several ways for people to combat hunger in their communities:
-Lobby to make school breakfast a regular part of the school day
-Build community coalitions in areas with high concentrations of poverty and hunger
-Enlist supermarkets in promoting food stamps as a way to achieve a balanced, healthy diet
-Involve health care professionals in hunger screening and providing assistance to patients in obtaining food resources.
After Parker's remarks, the parishioners were able to ask questions and comment.
Sixty-five percent of adults with health problems are 'at risk' for hunger, according to Project Bread's 2006 study.
