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Moore Discusses Hunger in America During National Nutrition Summit By Crystal D. Swann July 17, 2000 Beaumont (TX) Mayor David Moore, Chair of the Conference's Health and Human Services Standing Committee, was a guest speaker during The United States Department of Agriculture's and The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Nutrition Summit convened May 30-31 in Washington, D.C. The summit's, "Healthy People/Healthy Lifestyles," reflected both the substantial progress made toward achieving some nutrition targets and the remaining challenges the nation faces with the prevalent rise in obesity in the United States. During the closing plenary, Mayor Moore, speaking before a crowd of several hundred, stressed that "hunger, whether it manifests itself as temporary food shortage, food insecurity, or simply skipped meals, creates enormous difficulties that damage the health and stability of a community by destroying the self-esteem of the people who live in that community." The summit highlighted the accomplishments in the areas of food, nutrition, and health since the landmark 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health by identifying continuing challenges and emerging opportunities for the nation. The 1969 White House Conference brought public attention to the importance of nutrition resulting the several landmark policy efforts including expansion of the food stamp program. This year's summit brought together 2000 researchers, policymakers, educators, advocates and health professionals to discuss the significant challenges the nation faces in the area of nutrition and health. The summit participants focused on the development of an action-oriented plan to address nutrition in all phases of the life cycle, the role of diet in the prevention of chronic disease and the disturbing prevalence of iron deficiency in some segments of the population. Mayor Moore noted in his speech that, "sometimes it's difficult to recognize and understand how pervasive hunger is during these prosperous times. However, the Mayors see the "faces" of hunger, firsthand, in our communities. We know that hunger must and cannot continue be ignored. We must continue to work with our churches and community organizations to provide the spiritual and nutritional food our citizens need."     
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