By: Pam Taylor
Food insecurity is on the rise. More than 17 million Americans, 14.6 percent of US households, are fearful of going hungry. Alright, so maybe US hunger doesn’t present like the gruesome pictures we see of starvation in the Sudan, for example, but it is nonetheless both scandalously and dangerously high for a nation with our resources. And it is also completely unnecessary. Other developed countries don’t tolerate such widespread hunger, and especially among children.
Although a family might get SNAP, the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or a wage check, many still have to skimp on groceries, and they run out of food around the 20th or the 25th of every month. Food-insecure families also buy cheap and non-nutritious food. Poor nutrition damages heath, especially in little kids. When people don’t get enough food, the available nutrition goes to vital organs like the lungs; it doesn’t go to the brain.
Not surprisingly, food insecurity affects both African American and Hispanic families disproportionately — 25 and 26 percent, respectively, compared to 11 percent of white families. And among female-headed households, it’s a staggering 35 percent. See Infographic: The State of Food Insecurity for more startling facts.
More than 13 million children and another 3.5 million seniors are living in poverty in the United States, the leading cause of this nation’s hunger. Yet, we toss about 263 million pounds of food every day — edible food! Hunger in America. Of course, not everybody is buying my concern. Tom Sowell says we are victims of “media hysteria,” when it comes to hunger. Of course, he doesn’t buy America’s dismal poverty stats either. The 'Hunger' Hoax.
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