I've been a huge fan of Bill Moyers for years. I recently read the following interview regarding the challenges associated with hunger in America today.
Going to Bed Hungry
April 5, 2013
The United States is the world’s wealthiest nation, yet we still have families and children who don’t have enough to eat. We caught up with Joel Berg of NYC’s Coalition Against Hunger to learn what it means to be food insecure and what we can do to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry.
Theresa Riley: What does it mean to be “food insecure”? How many American children now live in “food insecure” households?
Joel Berg
Joel Berg: Food insecure means families don’t have enough money to regularly obtain all the food they need. It means they are rationing food and skipping meals. It means parents are going without food to feed their children. It means kids are missing breakfasts. And, ironically, because healthy food is usually more expensive than junk food, and because healthier options often don’t even exist in low-income neighborhoods, it means that food insecurity and obesity are flip sides of the same malnutrition coin, so food insecurity may actually increase a family’s chance of facing obesity and diabetes. Fifty million Americans, including nearly 17 million children, now live in food insecure homes.
Read the entire interview here.
When the SNAP benefit comes, go to Sam's or Wal-Mart and stock up. I have seen families with buggies piled so high they can hardly push them.
ReplyDeleteI bought a huge box of oatmeal the other day for a few cents above $3.00. Breakfast can be had for pennies. Parents must take responsibility for feeding their children. There is no excuse whatsoever for sending children to school hungry or having any organization responsible for feeding your children in the summer. If they don't take responsibility they should be thrown in jail and the children taken away. Of course if somebody else does it, that lets parents off the hook.