Is the Federal Government Apathetic to the Nation’s Hunger Crisis?

“As we talk about those who are starving in countries abroad, we have indeed all of the elements of a third-world nation within our own borders.” ~ Rep. Floyd Flake

In this land of plenty, where food is in abundant supply, and sending aid to neighboring countries is a perpetual humanitarian commitment, there seems to be an “elephant in the room” with the politicians.

The United States of America has a major crisis on its hands.

That crisis is — hunger.

Hunger arises when there’s an inadequate intake of food. It robs humans of the nourishment needed to sustain energy levels and healthy bodies.

When we think of those suffering from hunger, we readily assume that it only refers to the malnourished and poverty-stricken people in third-world countries. Or, the homeless citizens sleeping on streets and under bridges in the United States of America.

This is no longer the case.

“According to the USDA, more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, in the United States are food insecure.”

This vast number is indicative of how monumental this problem has become.

Food is missing from millions of dinner tables every day. So, hunger not only affects the homeless but working-class families as well. It has become so commonplace that previously financially stable families are now experiencing hardship and food deprivation.

 Food Crisis Affects Middle-Income Earners

The recent economic recession has forced some workers to live paycheck to paycheck while their dream of home ownership remains a mere pipe dream. This problem is not limited to the working class but, surprisingly, middle-income families are affected, too.

“Hunger in the United States of America affects millions of Americans, including some who are middle class, or who are in households where all adults are in work.”

Many middle-class Americans fall into poverty one or more times in their lives."

"Countless Americans are solidly middle-class one day — but after the car that takes them to work breaks down, their home catches fire, someone in their family gets very sick, their company announces layoffs, or they go through a tough divorce — they are soon impoverished.

Tens of millions of families are only one or two setbacks away from financial disaster, especially since the U.S. is the only industrialized Western nation with no paid family or medical leave."

The infographic (see below) is about food insecurity in the United States. It represents a comparison of the percentage of households experiencing disparities in food security. The distinction between the states with the highest rates of food insecurity is indicated on the color-coded chart and reveals the percentage of households with food insufficiency.

Photo By Tiffany Farrant — https://www.flickr.com/photos/gdsdigital/4127550851/, CC BY 2.0, Many people assume that most poor American families are impoverished for long, continuous periods of time, often over multiple generations, but that’s just not the case for most people in poverty in America.

“In the 48 months spanning the years from 2009 to 2012, only 2.7 percent of families were poor for all of those 48 months, but more than a third (34.5 percent) of all U.S. families experienced poverty in at least two of those months (U.S. Census Bureau).

In other words, while only one in 37 Americans were poor the entire four years, more than one in three Americans were poor sometimes. That means that the number of Americans who sometimes live in poverty dwarfs the number of those who always do.”

Hunger affects American citizens who have never experienced the devastation of food insufficiency before. Therefore, government officials must convene to address this issue and end this crisis, once and for all. If they continue to “drag their feet”, then it may indicate they’re apathetic and oblivious to the severity of the issue.

Or, is it just a matter of misaligned priorities?

Prioritization of the Food Crisis

The United States is known for its prosperity and noble humanitarian efforts to provide for other countries that require sustenance. It would be unwise to minimize the existing global hunger, but it’s vital to focus on the current crisis happening right at home in the U.S.A.

The government appears to have taken a position of apathy regarding those suffering from food insecurity. There should be a commitment to prioritizing and rendering aid to its own citizens. Every American citizen should have the privilege of maintaining a stable supply of food.

This is an urgent matter that must be addressed sooner than later.

It’s without question, that this country can address and eradicate the existing hunger problem if it’s moved into the first position of the items on its agenda.

According to an article published on www.americanprogress.org, it was stated that, “Hunger and food insecurity are wholly preventable.”

“This nation knows how to fix the problem of hunger and food insecurity. Plenty of programs and services attack hunger and food insecurity from various angles — supporting mothers and babies, school-aged children, older adults, low-income workers, and more.

These programs are designed to reduce hunger by supplementing incomes and lifting individuals and families out of poverty. But reducing hunger is quite different from eliminating it entirely.

The United States has the resources to build an equitable, sustainable food system that ensures no individual, child, or family goes hungry within its borders.”

So, we have obvious solutions to this problem, but what good are solutions without accountability? The government shies away from tackling this issue, but instead focuses on the crises in other countries and regularly bails them out.

Syrian Food Emergency Bailout

The United States government shelled out millions of funds to aid Syria’s food crisis while placing this country’s food insecurity issues on the back burner.

According to this Press Release dated Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from the U.S. Office of Press Relations, it states,

“Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced in Jordan today that the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $55 million in additional food assistance for the Syria crisis response.” 

So, they stretched their wallet and adjusted their budget to be charitable to Syria?

That’s great. In fact, that’s a very kind gesture. But there’s one problem.

More help is needed in this country. The government may perceive the help they’ve already provided as sufficient, but it isn’t. If it were enough, there wouldn’t be a hunger crisis in this country.

The United States government is apparently more preoccupied with the needs of the Syrian citizens than its own.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not against humanitarianism.

In fact, I happen to be a charitable giver myself.

But, government officials need to empathize with the suffering that struggling families are forced to cope with. Imagine being forced to choose between paying for electricity or buying food while living in one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

In this country, millions of food-deficient citizens are wondering where their next meal is coming from.

Dealing with hunger while navigating the ebbs and flows of their lives is a challenging ordeal. And, for this reason, nobody should sit in front of an empty plate at the dinner table in a country where food is abundant! 

It's your turn. What are your thoughts about this growing crisis? Leave a comment below.

References

¹ https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/mar-08-2023-united-states-provides-55-million-additional-food-assistance-syrian-refugees-jordan, “Syrian Food Aid”, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, News and Information.

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_in_the_United_States, “Hunger in the United States”

³ https://www.hungerfreeamerica.org/en-us/the-issues, Hunger Free America, “What poverty really looks like in America.”

⁴ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-united-states-can-end-hunger-and-food-insecurity-for-millions-of-people/, “The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People.”

⁵ https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america, “Food insecurity in the United States of America.”