I want to talk to you about World Food Day

As the richest country in the world, America has a moral obligation to lead from the heart and push for an end to world hunger. We live in a world of plenty, where local knowledge coupled with modern agriculture makes it possible to feed everyone on this planet.

And yet, the harsh reality is that close to a billion people around the world are impacted by hunger. The novel coronavirus pandemic has made that number even worse. Here at home, our hunger crisis has become a hunger catastrophe as food lines stretch for blocks and more and more families fall behind.

Today is World Food Day, an event sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The theme this year is "build back better," and I cannot imagine a more apt mission for 2020. About a month ago, I reached out about the spike in families struggling with food insecurity due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts and find new, innovative ways to end hunger and ensure that food is a human right for all people.

America has proven before that if we work together and build a broad coalition, we really can end hunger for so many. Programs like the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program, Feed the Future, Food for Peace, the Maternal and Child Nutrition Program, Food for Progress, and our own domestic hunger safety net make a real and lasting difference in the lives of millions of people.

There is just no good reason why any family or child, senior or individual has to wonder where their next meal will come from.

Join me in standing with the families struggling with food insecurity right now. Find your local food bank, and share your strength. You can chip in a few bucks from your phone, or drop off essentials at a pantry.