Debt Ceiling Signals Battles Ahead for Hunger Programs

Taken from the hunger Champions Blog at Feeding America.org

Debt Ceiling Signals Battles Ahead for Hunger Programs

August 18, 2011
While a debt ceiling deal ultimately passed - narrowly averting a disastrous federal default that threatened critical hunger relief programs - the budget battle affecting our nation's hungry has only just begun.

Cuts Imperil Federal Safety Net Programs

As reported in a recent CNN story, Congress reached an agreement to enact spending cuts, but which programs will bear the brunt is still to be determined by the Super Committee. A likely target? Federal hunger relief programs, which are already struggling to support a growing need in a time of economic uncertainty.

In the face of rising food and gas prices, Feeding America's food banks count on our nation's nutrition assistance programs to feed hungry Americans. And, as recently profiled in the political blogosphere, even programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which helps 9 million women and children - is at risk of devastating cuts. We can't let Congress take food out of the mouths of hungry people, simply because they don't have the most powerful voice.

ACT NOW: Protect America's Hungry

As Congress considers which programs to cut, they must reflect on our core values as a nation - and what the choices we make say about our priorities. The bottom line: America's most vulnerable citizens must not be the casualties of crippling cuts to essential hunger relief programs.

Together, we can let lawmakers know that balancing the budget on the backs of our nation's hungry is not an option. Take action today to protect programs that support hungry Americans in the wake of the deficit reduction deal!

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Working Poor

One of the most common misconceptions is the assumption that if someone is hungry, that means they do not have a job and are living on the streets. What most people don’t understand is that anyone can experience hunger. It is a silent epidemic that affects more than 49 million Americans.

According to the US Census Bureau, in 2008, 19 million people lived in working-poor families. This translates into nearly 9 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. i In fact, 36 percent of client households served by the Feeding America network have one or more adults working. ii

Working Poor Facts

* Female-headed households were more than twice as likely to be among the working poor than male-headed households in 2008. iii
* Married-couple families with children under 18 were almost 5 times as likely as families without children to be among the working poor in 2008. iii
* Among families with at least one member working at least half a year, families with children were 4 times more likely than families without children to live in poverty in 2008.iii
* According to a survey on hunger and homelessness conducted by the United States Conference of Mayors, 92% of cities participating in the survey cited unemployment as one of three major causes of hunger in their city. iv
*

Thirty-nine percent of all adult clients served by Feeding America have completed high school or equivalent degree with no further education beyond high school. ii
*

Thirty-four percent of all client households served by Feeding America have had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.ii

* Sixty-five percent of working families that received SNAP were single-parent families. v

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i U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (POV 10).

ii Rhoda Cohen, J., Mabli, F., Potter, Z., Zhao.Hunger In America 2010. Feeding America. February 2010.

iii U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A Profile of the Working Poor, 2007.

iv The U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2008 Hunger and Homelessness Survey. December 2008.

v Urban Institute, Sheila R. Zedlewski, E. Mon. Many Low-income Working Families Turn To The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program For Help. August 2009.

vi Urban Institute, Gregory Acs, P. Loprest. Who Are Low-Income Working Families? September 2005.

Related articles

• Hunger in America 2010 (ageinginamerica.com)
• Homeless Families In America Increase By 9 Percent (huffingtonpost.com)
• Hunger in America: Reports Confirm Escalating Hunger Crisis (nutrition.suite101.com)
• The Working Poor: America's Invisible Economic "Other" (pinkbananaworld.com)