35 million Americans faced hunger in 2006

Buzz Mills

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Over 35 million Americans faced hunger in 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government said the number of Americans who went hungry in 2006 was held in check at 35 million people from the prior year, but food advocacy groups said on Wednesday more needs to be done. The U.S. Agriculture Department said a total of 12.65 million households were "food insecure," or 10.9 percent of U.S. homes, up from 12.59 million a year ago.

The USDA defines food insecurity - its metric for measuring hunger - as having difficulty acquiring enough food for the household throughout the year. "It looks very stable from this year to last year," said Mark Nord, who co-authored the annual report for USDA's Economic Research Service.

Overall, 35.52 million people, including 12.63 million children, went hungry compared with 35.13 million in 2005. The survey was conducted in December 2006 and represented 294 million people, an increase of 2.5 million from 2005. Food advocacy groups said the figures showed the United States was not doing enough to combat hunger, and feared conditions could worsen. "As costs for food, energy, and housing continue to rise and wages stagnate or decline, households are finding themselves increasingly strapped," said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center. "This may mean even worse numbers in 2007."

Very low food security was most prevalent in households with children headed by a single woman -- 10.3 percent in 2006, USDA said. Food stamps and other public nutrition programs account for about 60 percent of the USDA's spending. Funding for the department's 15 nutrition assistance programs has risen 70 percent since 2001 to $59 billion in 2006, and 20 percent of all Americans are impacted by the programs each year. Some 27 million people are enrolled in the food stamp program alone, which helps poor Americans buy food. USDA has estimated 65 percent of eligible people participate in the program, up from 54 percent in 2001. "We have more work to do," said Kate Houston.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071114/ts_nm/usa_food_hunger_dc
 
That's certainly one of the saddest things I've heard to date.
:banghead: 35 MILLION American's.
 
The sad thing is that I'm not sure they are counting everyone. In NE GA, and I suspect elsewhere, there are literally hundreds of kids in our high school who qualify for the free breakfast/lunch program but will not take it either out of their own pride or the pride of their families.
I always spend five ten minutes a couple of times each semester (whenever I can work it into a lesson) explaining how the program works, that it is funded by tax dollars, and that the kids will pay it back in taxes or donations when they are older. They have a better shot at earning more if they have a good education; they have a better shot at a good education if they have proper nutrition. I do understand the pride issue--my parents wouldn't allow us to take part, even though we were eligible. We never went hungry because of deer season and having our own farm, but I have watched too many go hungry in this country!
 
The sad thing is that I'm not sure they are counting everyone. In NE GA, and I suspect elsewhere, there are literally hundreds of kids in our high school who qualify for the free breakfast/lunch program but will not take it either out of their own pride or the pride of their families.
I always spend five ten minutes a couple of times each semester (whenever I can work it into a lesson) explaining how the program works, that it is funded by tax dollars, and that the kids will pay it back in taxes or donations when they are older. They have a better shot at earning more if they have a good education; they have a better shot at a good education if they have proper nutrition. I do understand the pride issue--my parents wouldn't allow us to take part, even though we were eligible. We never went hungry because of deer season and having our own farm, but I have watched too many go hungry in this country!


I think its wonderful that you do this Pandora.

A couple of other points worth making to these students.... Most schools now are computerized in the lunch room so a lunch number is put into the key pad and no one knows who has assisted lunch and who does not.
Also school receive additional federal fundings for many other programs based upon the # of students who receive free or reduced priced breakfast and lunch.
Another note should be made about the fact that "if you don't use it you lose it"
In other words families that are eligible should be using the lunch program or the feds will take money away from the program and that could lead to children who really need it not getting it.
 
The sad thing is that I'm not sure they are counting everyone. In NE GA, and I suspect elsewhere, there are literally hundreds of kids in our high school who qualify for the free breakfast/lunch program but will not take it either out of their own pride or the pride of their families.
I always spend five ten minutes a couple of times each semester (whenever I can work it into a lesson) explaining how the program works, that it is funded by tax dollars, and that the kids will pay it back in taxes or donations when they are older. They have a better shot at earning more if they have a good education; they have a better shot at a good education if they have proper nutrition. I do understand the pride issue--my parents wouldn't allow us to take part, even though we were eligible. We never went hungry because of deer season and having our own farm, but I have watched too many go hungry in this country!
Hopefully you can instill the principles of good nutrition in these students Pandora. Maybe the studemts could do something a little extra, so they will feel as if they are earning their free breakfast/lunch.

In the meantime, I would like to see the illegal immigrants leave and go home.
 
Hopefully you can instill the principles of good nutrition in these students Pandora. Maybe the studemts could do something a little extra, so they will feel as if they are earning their free breakfast/lunch.

In the meantime, I would like to see the illegal immigrants leave and go home.

It does make you wonder what kind of a surplus in funds we'd have if every child born of an illegal immigrant didn't become an automatic citizen upon birth.
 
my kids always contribute to the food drive at their schools- this year I finally told my 11 year old son that if he takes anymore food to school- we are going to be in the line for food- the thing that made me a little upset is the BIG drive with the kids about the room with the most cans getting a free pizza------ I could have bought the whole sixth grade pizza for what he took it- I know i should have drawn the line sooner- but hard to tell a child " no more food for the hungry " he is so sweet and emotional- how do you explain the difference between helping- and fricking supporting the whole program :crazy:
 
It does make you wonder what kind of a surplus in funds we'd have if every child born of an illegal immigrant didn't become an automatic citizen upon birth.
:hand: dont make me start thinking that way again-----------------:angel:
not only are they a citizen- all of the benifits that most of us only hope for are layed on their tables ....free
 
And if they don't get it immediately, they call up their ACLU rep and make waves.

I'm a single mother with a daughter in her last year of high school and two in middle school. I'm not on welfare and don't ask for hand-outs. But my children don't look half as nice as many immigrant children with their fancy labeled clothes and high-tech gadgets.

I know many of their parents work hard and not all take the government for what they can get, but many do. I'm sick of it.
 
Wow ..thats alot of hungry people for a country that is not third world..why are these people not able to feed themselves...do you have social security with regular payments for the unemployed and the unmarried with kids?
 
It does make you wonder what kind of a surplus in funds we'd have if every child born of an illegal immigrant didn't become an automatic citizen upon birth.
Even for the ones not born here, we pay $7,000 per child per year for their education, and we give them subsidized housing, and medical care in the emergency room.
 
It is hard to believe that obesity in America is at a crisis level, and yet we have hungry people? Heck, even our poor people are overweight.
 
I just wolfed down a turkey sandwich,I guess you and I are not one of the millions of people going hungry,and I guess we can be thankful for that.:)

ETA: Although I probably could go for some of those twinkies,HoHo's,or chips that you mentioned.
 
It could all get even worse for the hungry since food prices have went up in the last year quite a bit.
 
And if they don't get it immediately, they call up their ACLU rep and make waves.

I'm a single mother with a daughter in her last year of high school and two in middle school. I'm not on welfare and don't ask for hand-outs. But my children don't look half as nice as many immigrant children with their fancy labeled clothes and high-tech gadgets.

I know many of their parents work hard and not all take the government for what they can get, but many do. I'm sick of it.
I don't blame you Cali. Americans need to take care of "their own" first.
 
I volunteer at our lunchroom, at least I did before my maternity leave, and I wanted to say even though we are not computerized, we have no clue who our free lunch people are. We prepare 3 trays for our free lunch children, whether they bring lunch or not . It is kept completely anonymous. There is no need for pride. No one knows who the free lunch children are.
 

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