'The Dude' talked childhood hunger at governors' conference last week

When it comes to childhood hunger, The Dude does not abide.

Jeff Bridges, one of the most popular American movie stars and a part-time Montana resident, attended the Western Governors’ Association meeting on Wednesday to discuss the work of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry program.

“The enormity of the problem caught my attention,” Bridges said at the roundtable. “But it’s a solvable problem. It’s not like we don’t have the money or the food or we don’t know how.”

Since No Kid Hungry began, over 500 million meals have been served to youth suffering from hunger.

Gov. Steve Bullock and his wife Lisa are also advocates for the program. With one in five Montana children experiencing hunger, and one in three on Indian reservations, the Bullocks want to see big changes. It’s easier to resolve issues like this on the state level, Bridges and the governors noted.

In Montana, Breakfast After the Bell has been essential, Gov. Bullock reported. When kids are provided with breakfast at school, disciplinary issues and mid-morning slump are nonexistent, and attendance increases.

First Lady Lisa Bullock also recalled a story of snacks being left surreptitiously in kids’ backpacks during recess, and how delighted the students became when they realized that they’d have some food at home after school.

“They know, ‘When I go home from school today, I will have something to eat,’” she explained.

In addition, Montana now has 220 summer meal spots and offers food trucks or buses in locations like Browning.

“This effort has been one of the most rewarding parts of the job,” Gov. Bullock said.

Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, like Gov. Bullock, is an example of a politician trying to combat childhood hunger in his state.

Sandoval told the story of a little boy taking dozens of ketchup packets home to make tomato soup later, because he said there was no food in his house.

“Kids don’t learn if they’re hungry,” Sandoval declared.

In Nevada, schools with 70 percent or more free or reduced lunches offer Breakfast After the Bell to all students.

Contrary to what the resistance says, breakfast in school doesn’t disrupt classroom time or education, the governors noted.

Columbia Falls offers breakfast in all its schools, said superintendent Steve Bradshaw, who was contacted after the roundtable. It also has a program that puts food in students’ backpacks so they have something to eat over the weekend. About 200 students benefit from that program. The school foots the bill, Bradshaw noted. The free and reduced program consistently loses money.

Bullock, Bridges, and Sandoval acknowledged the complexity of fighting poverty, but noted the simplicity of resolving child hunger.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to think about the kid who’s hungry,” Sandoval said.

Bridges reflected that he couldn’t believe there was resistance to fighting childhood hunger in schools, and reminded the panel that strong, healthy kids are essential to a strong nation.

“If we can do this together, this is a great example of how we can solve any problem together,” he said. “You guys, the governors, wow, look at the strength you have. I would encourage you to get on board, let’s do this thing.”