We all experience life-changing moments at odd times.   Those chance encounters that you remember for the rest of your days because what you learned was such a shock to your insulated lifestyle.

One of those moments for me came several years ago when my company was asked to feed Thanksgiving dinner to a group of 100 local, homeless, school children.  I agreed to the request and showed up at the appropriate time with several roast turkeys, mashed potatoes, gravy and other "holiday fare".  

The kids were late!   It was during my busy season so I wasn't real happy about that.  I was a little ashamed of my personal reaction when I discoved that the reason they were late was that they were having to hunt down the children.  "What do you mean?", I asked.  And was told that the kids "couch surf" between different homes each day, so it takes a little extra time to find them.   But eventually they arrived and proceeded to eat. 

At the end of the meal, a six year old boy came back to the buffet and asked if he could take home some dinner to his mother.  He said, "I don't want my Mom to go hungry tonight".   And my universe was upended.   The realization finally hit home that I lived in the richest country in the world....and there were still 1st graders who felt obligated to try to feed their family.   They weren't worried about things I think of kids worrying about.  Things like missing TV or tomorrow's recess or their next soccer game.  They were worried about feeding Mom at the ripe old age of 6!  THAT'S SO WRONG!!!

I've done that same event every year since.  It's one that I never hand off to an employee because I never want to be so comfortable that I  forget that boy's situation.  (And I will remember the look in his eyes until the day I die.)

Hunger is a major problem both for this country and for Missouri:

"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."

I tell you this story to introduce you to this woman:

Dressed in her cute pink outfit, surrounded by her husband and children is Missouri State Legislator Cynthia Davis from St. Charles County. She is the co-owner of BACK TO BASICS CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE in O'Fallon Missouri.  "Rep. Davis has been appointed to serve as the Majority Floor Whip. She was also elected by her peers to be the Secretary for the Women Legislators of Missouri and was also elected to be the Vice-President of First Capitol Federation of Republican Women. She is also serving as the Republican Committeewoman for the Dardenne Township."  She also chairs the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families.  

She recently released a statement in her newsletter on a summer program sponsored by the Agricultural Department to feed school aged children during the summer.   This program last year fed 3.7 million meals at a total cost of under 9.5 million dollars.  (By using local churches and food pantries, that keeps the costs to under $3/meal.  Pretty efficient use of our tax dollars if you ask me.)

The chair of the Committee on Children & Families wrote:

"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."

Why have meals at home with your loved ones if you can go to the government soup kitchen and get one for free? This could have the effect of breaking apart more families.

Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals?

Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break.

Families may economize by choosing to not waste hard earned dollars on potato chips, ice cream, or Twinkies. Perhaps some families will buy more beans and chicken and less sweets.

They are using a "crisis" to create an expansion of a government program. Parents naturally love their children and enjoy caring for their children just as much as ever during an economic downturn...Laid off parents could adapt by preparing more home cooked meals rather than going out to eat.

Rather obviously, Rep. Davis is a little out of touch with the real world that many of her fellow Missourians face.

Here's a reality check for you:

This is what a food line looks like.   There are lots of them in Missouri.   This one's from Southwest Missouri!  Does this look like a made-up "crisis" just to increase government?

This is what one of the children who was fed last summer from the program you scoff at looks like!  (He looks a little short to run a fryer safely!)

Rep. Davis is a disgrace to her office and to our state!  She should be ashamed of herself and her district should be ashamed of themselves if they re-elect her.

If this story upsets you as much as it did me, you can do three things to help.

1)  Make a donation of food or money to a local food pantry.   Make sure the donation is made in honor of Rep. Davis!

2)  You can e-mail Rep. Davis yourself at cynthia.davis@house.mo.gov

3)  Contact your local state legislator to ask them to lobby Republicans to remove Rep. Davis from her chairmanship of the Committe on Children and Families.   Missouri deserves better representation than this!