2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 77
BY SENATOR FRED MILLS
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to take immediate action to share
information, expertise, and resources in an effort to coordinate public, private, and
charitable sectors to abate hunger in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, Louisiana consistently faces some of the highest rates of hunger in the
country particularly amongst children and seniors; and
WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, one in six
Louisiana households struggles to put food on the table; and
WHEREAS, the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger ranks Louisiana as the
second worst state for seniors at risk of hunger with twenty-four percent, or nearly one in
four, seniors facing food insecurity; and
WHEREAS, Feeding America estimates that one in four Louisiana children live in
households that are food insecure, and in several rural parishes one-third of children are food
insecure; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that nearly one million Louisiana residents experienced
food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, a 2020 survey of Louisiana food banks revealed an eighty percent rise
in need above typical levels, with nearly forty percent of those clients brand new to the
emergency food system; and
WHEREAS, while the number of COVID-19 cases are falling and vaccine
distribution is rising, this hunger crisis is not over and it is important for Louisiana
policymakers to join with local food banks and other community-based partners to ensure
that all Louisianians have enough food on the table to live healthy, hunger-free lives for the
duration of the pandemic, economic recovery, and beyond.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to take immediate action
to share information, expertise, and resources in an effort to coordinate public, private, and
charitable sectors to abate hunger in Louisiana.
Page 1 of 2 SR NO. 77 ENROLLED
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before October 1, 2021, the Louisiana
Department of Health shall host a summit on this matter to gather representatives from a vast
network of expertise in one setting to ensure that proper attention is given to this crisis and
to chart a pathway forward to combat hunger in Louisiana by providing short-term food
relief while seeking long-term solutions that can be used as a national and worldwide model
of excellence.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before December 31, 2021, the Louisiana
Department of Health shall submit a summit recommendation report to the Senate of the
Legislature of Louisiana identifying the long-term actions being proposed by summit
participants to address the hunger crisis in Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
Page 2 of 2