Hunger in America and SNAP

In the article, "Tough choices for America's hungry" found at CNN.com, Walter Thomas is a 52-year-old man who has been working steadily since he was 13 years old. In July he was laid off from his job. In early January, after his savings account was being used up and he had very little food left, he swallowed his pride and applied for food stamps. Thomas says, ". . .If nothing else, I'll be able to eat." Thomas receives $175 per month for food, which equals less than $2 per meal. The food stamp program has been renamed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that in October, more than one in 10 people - about 31 million - were using food stamps. More recent data is not available, but with our economy and job losses, this number has to be even greater now.

The article goes on to tell us about one mother with 3 children who have medical conditions. She feeds her family on $489 a month, but because of paperwork issues has been reduced to $250 a month. When she has to choose between feeding her family or paying the heat bill, she feeds her family. Another mother has 3 boys and tries to feed them on $319 a month. With the cost of food going up, they are not able to buy as much as they use to.

CNN correspondent Sean Callebs wanted to get a better idea of what it's like to live on a budget with SNAP. He started a blog detailing his experiences of living on $176 a month.

Sean had the luxury of visiting with a dietitian before starting on this program. Unfortunately, most Americans are not able to or don't seek this guidance. He also discovered that funds are suppose to supplement money spent on food each month - it's not suppose to be the sole source of funding. I know from people I have worked with in the past that too often food stamps are their only source of funding for food.

To begin his experience Sean went shopping with a mother of three small children who has been on and off food stamps. He received lots of advice on what to buy and not buy. Name brands are out of the question as well as there is never enough money for fresh fruits and vegetables or meat and fish. It will be interesting to follow Sean in his journey for the month.

It's so unfortunate in our "land of plenty" that we have so many families having to live and eat like this. It is hard to understand why we spend so much time and money taking care of other countries when we have so many in the United States living without sufficient food or funding to pay for living expenses. I know many of them need to find jobs, but without a decent education, jobs are hard to find. If they do have a job, many times the pay is so low they still have a hard time making ends meet.

I always think about the politicians, movie stars and athletes who make millions of dollars each year. If each of them were to contribute a few hundred thousand dollars to our needs in the U.S., just think of the families that could be helped.