Tag: hunger

The shame of the nation: More people are going hungry

Another bit of bad news that demonstrates that the economy may be in recovery, but it is not getting better.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food soared last year, to 49 million, the highest since the government began tracking what it calls “food insecurity” 14 years ago, the Department of Agriculture reported Monday.

The increase, of 13 million Americans, was much larger than even the most pessimistic observers of hunger trends had expected and cast an alarming light on the daily hardships caused by the recession’s punishing effect on jobs and wages.

About a third of these struggling households had what the researchers called “very low food security,” meaning lack of money forced members to skip meals, cut portions or otherwise forgo food at some point in the year.

The other two-thirds typically had enough to eat, but only by eating cheaper or less varied foods, relying on government aid like food stamps, or visiting food pantries and soup kitchens.

“These numbers are a wake-up call for the country,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

I wish it was a wakeup call, but with so many facing economic uncertainty the methods we’ve relied on for far too long (private and faith-based food pantries and soup kitchens) just won’t cut it now (they do not have the means).

A federal response is necessary, but unlikely — very much to our shame as a nation. In the meantime, maybe we should take Swift’s sarcastic advice and just eat the poor.

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Let them eat … somewhere else

Stories like this leave me shaking my head:

A judge has ruled that a church in Phoenix, where homelessness is on the rise, cannot feed the homeless. Crossroads United Methodist Church lost a court battle that began after neighbors complained about its weekly pancake breakfast and the hungry riff-raff turning up for it. Zoning, says the court.

The pastor, on the church’s blog, sums up the contradictions and biases implicit in the ruling, ones that only increase the dangerous economic divide in our society, a chasm that threatens to rip us apart.

However, there’s still a lot of questions to be answered. Questions like, How hungry? What about our potlucks? What about our Christmas dinner or Easter Sunrise breakfast? When I eat that, I am pretty hungry…is that allowed? What about the coffee and donuts we serve on Sunday mornings? Can we eat that if we are hungry? And then there is the other question, “How poor?” How poor do we have to be to be considered a “charity?” Federal-poverty-guidelines-poor? Not-able-to-make-the-house-payment-poor? Or, how about not-able-to-pay-off-the-credit-card-poor?

Or, are we just discriminating against people who are poor and who don’t have homes, because we don’t like what we feel when we see them? The real issue, is not that there are hungry people out there, or that we serve food in church, the real issue is that we are afraid. Afraid to reach out a helping hand; afraid to see what the economy could do to us; afraid to face our worst fears…

We can minister to the poor…that’s a given. We can hold a worship service for them out on the front lawn. We just can’t feed them. We can’t fill their bellies with warm food. …We might as well just go to the street corners and start handing out money, in hopes they will make their way to some food, because you are not allowed to do it at church!

And since, when we give food to the hungry and poor, that somehow redefines us as a “charity dining hall”…who among us can eat at church? Can we put a donut or a sip of coffee in our mouths when we can’t do the same for the poor? In good conscience, can we eat anything on church property if we can only give food to the well-off and wealthy?

The decision was rendered in Arizona, but it seems consistent with the kinds of battles we see over zoning everyday — battles of affordable housing rules, for instance. As the pastor says, our opposition to many of these things stems from our discomfort with what they say about our society and our fear of the other, especially of those who are poor or darker skinned.

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The last person I expected to record a Christmas record


I’d been hearing that this was going to come out, but really wasn’t sure what to say about it. I’m still not sure — a Bob Dylan Christmas album featuring him singing such happy tunes as “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Little Drummer Boy” and “Must Be Santa.”

What to say?

The album is a charity project — as his release says,

All of the artist’s U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year’s holiday season. Bob Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity.

Additionally, the artist is partnering with two international charities to provide meals during the holidays for millions in need in the United Kingdom and the developing world, and will be donating all of his future international royalties from Christmas In The Heart to those organizations in perpetuity. Details regarding the international partnerships will be announced next week.

“When we reached out to Bob Dylan about becoming involved with our organization, we could never have anticipated that he would so generously donate all royalties from his forthcoming album to our cause,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “This major initiative from such a world renowned artist and cultural icon will directly benefit so many people and have a major impact on spreading awareness of the epidemic of hunger in this country and around the world.”

Bob Dylan commented, “It’s a tragedy that more than 35 million people in this country alone — 12 million of those children – often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from. I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season.”

I still don’t know what to say.

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Using local food to help locals in need

This is such an obvious idea, you have to wonder why it took the state so long to do it:

Low-income families looking to eat healthier may now use their food stamp cards at more than 80 farmers’ markets around the state, according to a joint announcement today from Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez and Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher.

The new program provided the farmers’ market operators to the scanning equipment so people on food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, may use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to buy fresh produce, officials said.

The benefits of the program are myriad, including:

  • Access to better quality fresh fruit and vegetables for food-stamp recipients, helping them stay healthier.
  • Tax revenue generated by the farmers’ added income.
  • Continued farming, which keeps development at bay.

Seven Central Jersey farms are participating:

  • Asprocolas Acres in Millstone.
  • Farmer Al’s in Monroe.
  • K&S Farms in Cream Ridge.
  • Naturally Grown Gardens in Hopewell.
  • R&K Farm in Monroe.
  • Stillwell Farms in Robbinsville.
  • Von Thun’s Country Farm Market in South Brunswick
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