McGovern pushes lunch program

Christian Century, Feb 21, 2001

George McGovern, former senator, 1972 Democratic presidential candidate and current ambassador to the United Nations food organization in Rome, has launched a bipartisan crusade against hunger that he hopes will survive in the new Bush administration.

McGovern wants to provide free school lunches to each of the 300 million children around the world who go hungry. He believes that with the help of the United Nations, European nations, and private religious and philanthropic agencies he can achieve this goal in ten to 15 years.

Although protocol required Clinton appointees to submit their resignation to George W. Bush, McGovern expects to be able to remain in place for another year to work on his Global Child Feeding Initiative. With former GOP Senator Bob Dole acting as joint sponsor of the initiative, McGovern is optimistic about his chances both of remaining in Rome and convincing Congress to approve substantial funding.

"I think the chances are pretty good," McGovern said in an interview in his office in an annex of the American Embassy. "The Republicans have been pretty good on support for school lunches and food stamps." The children McGovern wants to feed live in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

An estimated 170 million of the children attend school for six hours a day, unable to concentrate on their studies because they are hungry. Another 130 million, most of them girls, don't go to school at all. "They are condemned to a life of illiteracy," McGovern said. --RNS