CHICAGO – La economía puede estar mejorando, pero una investigación reciente que realizó el Departamento de Agricultura no presenta mejoras en el tema de alimentar a las familias que pasan hambres. A nivel nacional se considera que 17 millones de hogares no tienen seguridad alimentaria.

Y en cuanto a tener lo suficiente para dar de comer a la familia, el estudio calcula que el 13 por ciento de los hogares ilinoenses tienen el agua al cuello o están hundiéndose. Es un 9 por ciento más que hace 10 años.

Diane Doherty, directora ejecutiva de la Illinois Hunger Coalition (Coalición Contra el Hambre de Illinois), trabaja todos los días con muchas familias así. Dice que recientemente atendió a una beneficiaria de Social Security que trabajó toda su vida, a quien ayudó a completar el papeleo para obtener cupones de comida.

"Estuvo tres días sin comer."

Y como le habían dicho que debía tomar sus medicinas con alimentos, tampoco tomó sus pastillas. De haber continuado sin recibir ayuda alimentaria, esa mujer hubiera terminado en el hospital. Doherty piensa que con las cifras actuales, no es momento de limitar los cupones de comida.

Jim Weill, presidente del Food Research and Action Center (Centro de Investigación y Acción Alimentaria), dice que no sólo los adultos mayores pasan penurias.

"Realmente es un problema generalizado para los adultos mayores, los adultos en edad laboral sin hijos, y especialmente para las familias con hijos."

Weill dice que es muy posible que conozcas alguien que esté batallando; que la mitad de los americanos, durante su vida laboral en alguna ocasión han tenido que valerse de "food stamps" para sortear los malos tiempos.

Doherty comenta que contar con unos cuantos dólares al mes en ayuda alimentaria evita muchos otros problemas.

"Ya sea que hablemos de niños o de mayores, el impacto de los gastos por atención médica, la incapacidad de hacer un buen papel en la escuela, la educación especial. Hablamos, para Illinois, de millones de dólares."

Algunos congresistas republicanos quieren recortar unos $40 billones en diez años, diciendo que los contribuyentes no pueden costear el programa. Otras voces opinan que no actuar contra el hambre del pueblo es mucho más caro. De acuerdo al Centro para el Progreso Americano, no atender el problema del hambre costaría a los causantes más de $167 billones al año.


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Congress is back in session two more weeks before the August recess. Wisconsin voices worried about the future of a key hunger relief program hope lawmakers protect its funding with a deadline looming.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - or SNAP - falls under the Farm Bill, which needs to be reauthorized by the end of September.

House Republicans have blocked efforts to maintain White House authority to make non-inflation adjustments to SNAP benefits - a move President Joe Biden made in 2021 when he carried out a record increase.

Meghan Roh, program director of the group Opportunity Wisconsin, said not having that option would put recipients at a disadvantage.

"SNAP benefits help over 700,000 Wisconsinites afford food, which is one in eight people in our state," said Roh. "And so, gutting this assistance would mean that these families have to make difficult choices."

The Congressional Budget Office says removing the provision would limit the scope of future SNAP increases by $30 billion. Advocates say that amounts to a large cut.

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, was called out for a recent committee vote to keep the option shelved.

In a social media post, he accused Democrats of lying when saying the panel was cutting benefits.

Other Republicans say their approach protects SNAP in the event a future GOP president would want to unilaterally reduce benefits.

But Suzanne Becker, executive director of the Feed My People Food Bank in Eau Claire, said politics shouldn't come into play. She argued that elevating SNAP levels as much as possible is a wise move.

"We can never replace the impact that SNAP has on our neighbors," said Becker. "Nonprofits can't do that. We make a difference every day. We strive to, but this is a critical piece in making sure that all Americans have what they need."

Becker said the debate comes as her location sees a lot of demand among working families. Her team works with income-eligible clients to sign up for SNAP benefits, noting that it's a lifeline for older populations.

Some North Dakota leaders believe healthy food is part of what is needed to help all kids achieve better outcomes and they hope low-income families sign up for new summer food assistance to keep their children on track.

State officials say eligible households have until Aug. 30 to apply for help buying groceries for kids while they are on break. North Dakota is one of many states to accept federal funding through the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program. Families receive a card with $120 on it for each eligible child, to spend on food.

Jared Slinde, communications manager for the Great Plains Food Bank, said there has always been concern about the "summer slide," and some kids also saw their learning suffer during the pandemic.

"Kids fell off track during COVID," Slinde observed. "Maybe they didn't have the best resources, which was certainly understandable. (The) Summer EBT program can help alleviate certain struggles that kids might have."

He explained staying nourished over the summer can help put them in a better position to learn once school starts and hopefully see their test scores rebound. Kids already receiving free or reduced-priced meals during the school year were automatically enrolled in Summer EBT but officials said more children may still qualify, and their parents are encouraged to sign up.

Slinde noted there are other programs, including ones offered by Great Plains Food Bank, helping families get food over the summer. He acknowledged things like transportation barriers might prevent some from getting to the sites distributing meals. The Summer EBT option could allow them to buy groceries from a neighborhood store.

"Our mission here is to end hunger together," Slinde stressed. "Any time we can have a number of different moving parts providing food assistance, we're going to be all for this."

He added they continue to see heightened demand overall for food assistance across North Dakota. So far, 32,000 North Dakota kids have been enrolled in the summer program.


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Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is facing a surge in demand for food assistance, despite the end of the pandemic.

The facility serves about 60,000 people monthly in Lake and Porter Counties.

Victor Garcia, the operation's CEO, said food banks operate differently from food pantries and soup kitchens. Food banks source food through donations, government programs and bulk purchases to supply local agencies.

"If you think of that food pantry at your local house of worship as a grocery store, and you think of a soup kitchen as a restaurant, our core business as food banks is to be the supplier to those agency partners," Garcia explained.

Garcia pointed out before the pandemic, the food bank conducted two mobile distributions weekly, serving about 4,000 people a month. During the pandemic, this spiked to six distributions weekly, serving 14,000 people.

According to the nonprofit group Feeding Indiana's Hungry, one in seven Hoosiers is food insecure. The group also reported the hunger rate for children in Indiana is even higher at one in five or worse in 38 of Indiana's 92 counties.

Garcia noted to meet demand, his facility currently maintains five distributions each week and serves about 12,000 people each month.

"The increased cost of product is creating significant impacts," Garcia stressed. "While we're looking for donated food as much as possible, we are buying more food than we ever have as a network to meet the increase in demand."

The food bank relies heavily on community donations and volunteer efforts. Garcia emphasized every dollar donated provides three meals, and volunteers are essential, with 7,200 individuals having volunteered last year alone.


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