10% Of American Population On Food Stamps
By Richard Bloom
Our traditional national media obsession with holiday stories about turkey dinners for the homeless has been supplanted by a new twist related to the economic downturn. The big story this year is the inability of food pantries to keep up with the need. So, CNN reports today that the Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado had 95 turkeys, but needs 430. The Sacramento Food Bank has 2,000, but needs another 1,000.
I've always been a bit cynical about these Thanksgiving turkey dinners that fill the stomachs of the needy and the psyches of those who give their time to help prepare and serve. It's a good thing. But what about the other 363 days of every year?
The Washington Post reports that the number of Americans on food stamps will exceed 30 million this month - an historic high. This, claims the Post, will cause Congress to put the spotlight on hunger.
Hunger is but a symptom of a much greater problem: poverty. With a population of slightly over 300 million, it is startling that 10% of Americans are so poor that they must rely on food stamps to get by.
Congress may put the spotlight on hunger, but they're not likely, without leadership from the top, to throw a flood-lamp on new thinking to end poverty. If I know Congress, its members will fight among themselves until they come up with a way to up the benefits to the poor: more money for food stamps, a little more housing assistance. Like the Thanksgiving turkey from the local food bank, however, they may not address the root causes of homelessness and poverty-lack of affordable housing, living wage jobs, and insufficient government subsidies.
With change in the air, it's time for our nation to take a serious look at how we intend to end poverty, instead of simply sustaining people in a state of poverty.
Richard Bloom is the Executive Director of Community Initiatives for PATH Partners, and is the Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Santa Monica.
(Pic from http://images.townnews.com)
posted by LA's Homeless Blog at
9:50 AM
1 Comments:
I think that many, if not most, of those 10 percent are single mothers and illegals. I see them on public transportation every day: many teenage mothers ride public transportation with their babies and mothers. The teenage mothers have a similar appearance to their mothers. The mothers are toothless and look haggard. Their teenage daughters typically smoke and look unkempt. The strollers that the teenage mothers have look cheap. Even with all of the extra school readiness programs, there will always be an underclass that will follow the pattern that they see in the poor areas that they live in. I don't think that "type" can be helped.
Also, I've read about pregnant illegals in high school who throw the free food they get from the government around the cafeteria. I don't think those pregnant illegals can be rescued.
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