Hunger is a true American Disgrace

      Adlai Stevenson in a speech on September 6, 1952 as the Ambassador to the United Nations stated that “A hungry man is not a free man.” Right now in the United States there are according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2011 50.1 million people living in “food in-secure households” which by definition is “households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food. Food-insecure households include those with low food security and very low food security”. For those households with children, 20.4% lived in food-insecure homes. To put this in real numbers of those 50.1 million people, 12.1 million adults lived in households with very low food security and 8.6 million children lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with adults, were food insecure. That’s a lot of hungry Americans for a country who is considered to be one of the richest nations in the world.

If you were to do a further analysis of the USDA data then: The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably among household types. Rates of food insecurity were higher than the national average (14.9 percent) for the following groups:

• All households with children (20.6 percent),
• Households with children under age 6 (21.9 percent),
• Households with children headed by a single woman (36.8 percent),
• Households with children headed by a single man (24.9 percent),
• Black, non-Hispanic households (25.1 percent),
• Hispanic households (26.2 percent), and

     Low-income households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold (34.5 percent; the Federal poverty line was $22,811 for a family of four in 2011).  (USDA ERS) If you only look at those who are classified as very low food insecurity defined by the USDA as “In these food-insecure households, normal eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake was reduced at times during the year because they had insufficient money or other resources for food. In reports prior to 2006, these households were described as "food insecure with hunger". This makes the overall picture for Americans look even bleaker for the following groups:

•  Households with children headed by a single woman (11.5 percent),
• Households with children headed by a single man (7.5 percent),
• Women living alone (7.9 percent) and men living alone (8.0 percent),
• Black, non-Hispanic households (10.5 percent),
• Hispanic households (8.3 percent),
• Households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line (14.2 percent), and
• Households located in principal cities of metropolitan areas (6.8 percent).

     Poverty is the big common denominator among all Americans receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). In 1992 the Federal Poverty line for a family of 4 was $13,950. (SSA Bulletin, Spring 1992) In 2011, the Poverty line was $22,500 for a family of 4; and this is gross income (before any income or FICA taxes are withheld. For 2011 this amounts to $11.25 per hour and in 1992 it was $6.98 per hour. For example in Florida minimum wage is $7.67 in 2011 and $3.25 in 1992. US Census data from 2001 through 2003 indicated that 31% of people lived in poverty for at least two months of tha time period and a little over 11% lived in poverty for a whole year. From 2004 to 2006 28.3% lived in poverty for at least two months of that period and 2.8 % during the whole time period. In 2009 the average people living below the poverty level was 14.3% and in 2010 it increased to 15.3% and in 2011 15.9%. 4.7% of adult children lived with their parents as of 2010 data. Data released in November of 2011 showing that 1 of 3 Americans live in poverty or slightly about the defined threshold or about 100 million Americans. In fiscal year 2010 40.3 million people received some form of nutritional benefits at a cost of $64.7 billion. These are real people who work, they are not freeloaders. They pay taxes and contribute to the economy.

     Hunger and Poverty is a national disgrace. This country produces more food than consumed. Every day people waste enough food to help others. This problem starts at the top and goes down. It is not red or white, democrat or republican, even neither liberal nor conservative. It is a national problem that needs real solutions. Churches, synagogues, Islamic prayer centers, and Buddhist temples need to help provide input. Towns, cities, counties, and states need to stop political maneuvering and come to the table to look at ways to help solve problem. Congress and political candidates need to quit distorting the facts and once in the history of this country and tell the truth on their ideas in solving these issues, not political rhetoric.

“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.”  Confucius