David Beckmann on Hunger in Florida

David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. Photo by Bread for the World.

David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, spoke to First Coast Connect on WJCT Florida yesterday about the rising poverty numbers in Florida, and why Congress needs to create a circle of protection around programs for hungry and poor people as they look to address the budget deficit.

He spoke, in particular, about the importance of protecting food for children, who are in danger of suffering from hunger in Florida, which has been hit hard by the economic recession. Beckmann said:

What happens when kids don't get the right food is their brains shut down, in a sense. When they go to kindergarten, if they're not eating quite right, they're naughty and act out ...

For children, it impedes their development in those crucial formative years. It is just crucial in this bad economy that we protect the kids.

Guests called in to the show to provide witness to the poverty in Florida. A caller named Cindy said that kids know when they are vulnerable to hunger and poverty, and that it is important that people stand up and go toe-to-toe with members of Congress and the president to say, This is wrong. Look somewhere else for your money. 

Beckmann said he couldn't agree more with Cindy. "It is quite possible to reduce the deficit in lots of different ways and not make hungry people hungrier," he said. "There's nothing in the Bible that says you can't tax rich people, but there's a lot in the Bible that says you shouldn't take food away from hungry kids."

Listen to the interview below.