qm_winter_2016

e all know that man does not live by bread alone; neither do • Virginia received an $8.8 Million USDA demonstration grant to end child hunger • The Governor’s budget included $537,000 for Breakfast After the Bell W • 51 % of U.S. public school children qualify for free or reduced price school lunches. • One in six Virginia children struggle with hunger By Bonnie Atwood First Lady V irginia’s on a MissioN

women and children, for that matter. But it’s a good place to start. Having fed her own children for 25 years now (her oldest is 25; her youngest is 13; and there are five of them), Dorothy McAuliffe has been acutely aware of the importance of food,

good food choices, and its many effects on mind and body. Her signature project, dating from her husband Terry McAuliffe’s election as governor, has always been feeding the hungry children of the Commonwealth of Virginia. On the front lines of combating hunger, she is in search of solutions, and she is finding them in many ways. Mrs. McAuliffe has taken the lead in studying the needs of Virginia families, advocating for funding, both federal and statewide, and creating new ways to serve the needs she has observed. She is all business. Mrs. McAuliffe, quite possibly one of the most private First Ladies in recent history, is the first to set up office space in the Patrick Henry Building. In her base of operations on the third floor, the office walls are inspiring and relevant, with colorful vintage posters: “Grow Your Own.” “Your Victory Garden.” “Food is Ammunition.” Another source of ammunition is her knowledge of the history of the fight against hunger. When the nation was coming out of The Great Depression, a World War, experienced an unprecedented boom in babies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started the National School Lunch Act, nicknamed “the milk program,” in 1946. Since then, the Congressionally-funded program has provided some funding for milk and other wholesome foods for children who qualify.

V irginia C apitol C onnections , W inter 2016

4