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| |  MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator"
Missouri Republican Rep. Cynthia Davis thinks providing healthy meals for poor children during summer vacation is a horrible idea. She suggests they get a job at McDonalds where they will be fed for free during their break. 
(Sources: Fired up! Missouri, St. Louis Today) State Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O’Fallon, is staking out a strong position on child hunger: She’s for it. “Hunger can be a positive motivator,” she notes in the latest edition of her newsletter.
More precisely, Ms. Davis is against summer feeding programs for poor kids. They are an excuse “to create an expansion of a government program,” she says.
Ms. Davis chairs the House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families. In that position, she might be expected to have insight into child hunger in our state.
She might know, for instance, that about one in five Missouri children lives with hunger. That ties us with Louisiana for the nation’s seventh-highest rate, according to a report released last month by the hunger-relief charity Feeding America.
Or that the recession has pushed the number of poor Missouri kids who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches by 8.3 percent this year, well above the national average.
Apparently not.
”While I have not seen this as a problem in my district, it is entirely possible that the (summer feeding) program is designed to address problems that exist in other parts of Missouri,” Ms. Davis says in her newsletter.
“The right way to solve this is with more education. If parents … don’t know how to serve nutritious meals, let’s help them learn to do that.”
In that spirit, she offers some helpful hints: • “Families may economize by choosing not to waste hard earned dollars on potato chips, ice cream or Twinkies.” • “Laid-off parents could adapt by preparing more home cooked meals rather than going out to eat.” • “ Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break.”
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| | No. 1 | 
Jun 21, 2009, 09:44 PM
Re: MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator"
oh,,, wow..
Well, I do agree that being hungry can serve as motivation, and the end goal is getting something to eat! I think this is just another example of a politician who is hopelessly out of touch. It's downright foolish to avoid feeding a child if the child is hungry. I'm sure there are other ways to cut spending, and I'm willing to bet that most folks would be willing to pay a little more in taxes so that a kid could eat.
I have a brilliant idea, I say, in the summer time, we take the "poor children" and put them to "work" in "community camps". We shouldn't have to pay them because the pay-off is learning personal responsibiliy and the worthiness of a hard days work. THEN, we feed them.
| | No. 4 |
Jun 22, 2009, 12:52 AM
Re: MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator" Originally Posted by VivaLasViejas  Still, I think the remark was taken out of context, and she's absolutely right that avoiding the junk-food aisle and cooking meals at home helps save money. That doesn't mean she wants to starve low-income children, IMHO.
Here is the link to her online newsletter. I think you will find that her remarks were not taken out of context. And as the scathing editorial in the St. Louis newspaper pointed out, she is ignoring real, unfortunate statistics about child hunger in her own state. She wants to shift responsibility to churches and non-profits, but most of the program sites are already in churches, and they need the federal funding opposed by Cynthia Davis.
I guess I simply cannot understand the mentality of a politician who would actually begrudge hungry children food.
| | No. 5 |
Jun 22, 2009, 04:49 AM
Re: MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator"
Her comments were not taken out of context. She is clearly against serving meals to hungry children. She believes that serving meals to them will break apart families and that churches can take up the slack. She also seems to believe that the problem of hungry children can be solved by the parents serving more home-cooked meals?????? There is a huge disconnect there, her bulb is not too bright. who created a new rule that says government must make up for any lack at home? People who are struggling with lack of food usually do not have an obesity problem.
I guess that's the positive side of hunger. Why have meals at home with your loved ones if you can go to the government soup kitchen and get one for free?
Show of hands? How many people would willingly go to a soup kitchen instead of eat at home if they had a choice? Anybody?
| | No. 7 |
Jun 22, 2009, 10:12 AM
Re: MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator" Originally Posted by blue note Oh, BTW, she is of course, anti-abortion. So, she is for saving "unborn children," but against feeding children after they are born if they are poor.
Yes, of course.
| | No. 8 |
Jun 22, 2009, 10:16 AM
Updated
Jun 22, 2009 at 10:37 AM by Cherybaby
Re: MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator" "People who are struggling with lack of food usually do not have an obesity problem."
Awesome! So, all I need to do then is to starve my children...and they will drop all that nonsensical baby fat! Maybe my 13 year old will get a job! I can always send my 8 month old grandaughter to work at McDonalds! And all along, here I thought that I had to feed my babies. Matter of fact, I think I'll go hungry too...you know, as a show of support. 
Sorry for the sarcasm...but this post kind of chapped my a**.
I used to work with homeless families when I lived in NYC. These poor mothers were so proud that they resorted to soup kitchens as a last resort. They would feed their children and skip feeding themselves because they were too embarassed to eat food that could benefit other little kids. Obviously, this woman has never seen what an emaciated child looks like; the way you can hand them a piece of bread and they will eat it like it's a 3 course meal, savoring every moment of it. It's disgusting that this woman would say such a thing about a child's motivation to eat. Surely we can all benefit from eating home cooked meals...but what about those who don't have homes to cook their meals in?
I guess they could always rumage through garbage cans of those of us who can afford a box of chicken mc nuggets now and then. 
Oh, and before we "go there", I don't care what her party affiliation is. Ignorance is a bi-partisan affliction.
| | No. 9 |
Jun 22, 2009, 10:21 AM
Re: MO Republican on child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator" Originally Posted by Cherybaby but what about those who don't have homes to cook their meals in?
Exactly! And what about those who live in poor urban areas without access to a grocery store? Sure, there is public transportation, but it is not always safe and available when/where you need it. If all you have access to is a convenience store, you are not going to get a lot of beans and rice. Cheetos and other junk becomes a part of the daily diet! This situation is not far-fetched, it happens every day at the school where I work!
As far as hunger somehow motivating children...I. Just. Have. No. Words.  :angryfire |
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