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In the "Land of Plenty" - the forgotten go hungry too

Here in the USA it is relatively easy to turn a blind eye to the concept of food shortage. Occasionally, the price of oranges might jump because of a problem with the harvest in Florida. Or, spinach might become unavailable due to the contamination of farmland in the primary growing area in California, causing an e-coli outbreak.

But the kind of pervasive widespread hunger. That insidious gnawing in the belly is foreign to most. And to those who feel those hunger pangs, they are hidden and forgotten. Their suffering has long been something set aside, if it is even considered at all - "How could people in the USA be going hungry? There's plenty of food on the supermarket shelves." The only problem with that is that the economically disenfranchised have no access to the food in supermarkets. No cash. No dinner.

The current economic crisis is raising a level of awareness (not great, or strong, certainly) that is revealing the financial hardship of many. A hardship reflected in food bank shortages and school lunch programs being overloaded. While food shortages in other countries are the result of poor farm yields due to climate change, or conflict, or non-existent supply chains, a more criminal situation is in the USA where in the midst of plenty, people go hungry.

This is being addressed. In my own state of New Jersey (NJ) there are many programs that directly address this situation:

Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

The Women, Infants and Children program helps protect the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at
nutritional risk. WIC provides nutritious foods, information on healthy
eating, and referrals to health care.

The Emergency Food Assistance program (TEFAP)

TEFAP is a program of the US Department of Agriculture. TEFAP provides commodity foods to local agencies, like food banks, which in turn
provide food to soup kitchens and food pantries. People who receive
TEFAP food must meet the criteria set by the state.

School lunch and breakfast programs

These USDA programs are found in schools and residential child care institutions. They provide nutritious, low-cost or free meals to
children each school day.

The Summer Food Service Program

The USDA Summer Food Service program provides meals and snacks to children during the summer months.

Elderly food program

The most common elderly feeding program is the federally funded Nutrition
Program for the Elderly. This program works through each County's
Office on Aging. It provides meals served in group settings at
locations in each county.

Tags: economic, evidence, food, learn2, nj, response, shortages, usa

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Comment by Mita Williams on May 4, 2010 at 12:09am: "The Summer Food Service Program" Until you mentioned it, it hadn't crossed my mind that in the summer time, many children would go without their school meal program, and thus, go without meals. Thanks for sharing this