[cumulus]

"More than 38 million Americans go hungry, including nearly 14 million children"

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-hia102805.php

I think this is a parenting issue but feel if I post it under "Parenting" it will be shunted to this forum so I'm posting it under "News and Current Events". Are not all children our concern and thus childhood hunger, especially American, a parenting issue?

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

[Marsupialmom]

I would like to see how this study was done.

Here is why? The questions they asked could cause misleading outcomes.

Dh and I have had food insecurities but have not gone hungry.

I also have seen how schools will hound parents for income information. This could be very misleading. I know a family of six that gets free lunch becauase they incomes are low but they own their own home so they don't have that family expence.

 

[~member~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marsupialmom I would like to see how this study was done. Here is why? The questions they asked could cause misleading outcomes. Dh and I have had food insecurities but have not gone hungry. I also have seen how schools will hound parents for income information. This could be very misleading. I know a family of six that gets free lunch becauase they incomes are low but they own their own home so they don't have that family expence.

Quote:

In 2001, more than 23 million Americans sought emergency food assistance from food banks, church pantries, soup kitchens, meal sites, and shelters. On a monthly basis, this is 6 million more low-income people than are enrolled in the Food Stamp Program. Between 2001 and 2002, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 19% in American cities, with 48% of requests coming from families with children. Children make up nearly 40% of all emergency food clients. Another 20% are elderly Americans. Nearly 40% of all households served by food banks include someone who is working.

Here in MN in order to get food from the food shelf you have to give everyone's SSN and you need a picture ID that prooves you are not homeless.
The only places left for the homeless to eat are at the churches and they don't require any documentation.

 

[oldermamato5]

The issue of poverty in general is heavy on my heart. WHY are there so many? What can WE do? Seriously. Start where you live? Givewhatever you can to another country? I am overwhelmed,but want to DO SOMETHING.
I do think www.one.org is a good place to start.

 

[Knittin' in the Shade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies Here in MN in order to get food from the food shelf you have to give everyone's SSN and you need a picture ID that prooves you are not homeless. The only places left for the homeless to eat are at the churches and they don't require any documentation.

how asinine is that?!? Seems to me that chances are it's the homeless who need food support the most!!

What's the reasoning behind that (if you know)?

 

[~member~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldermamato5 The issue of poverty in general is heavy on my heart. WHY are there so many? What can WE do? Seriously. Start where you live? Givewhatever you can to another country? I am overwhelmed,but want to DO SOMETHING. I do think www.one.org is a good place to start.

You cannot have the Rich without the Poor. You cannot have Poor without Rich.
Bill Gates could keep America fed all by himself, if he wanted.

Quote:

American tradition of helping others help themselves

That is why there is such extreme poverty here in the U.S. Not everyone should be made to work for their basic needs. It's just not possible.

Quote:

education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans - would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries

This sounds a little scary, to me. What is wrong with how they take care of orphans? Extended family vs an orphanage? There used to be clean water, food, and good health-what happened?

 

[~member~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade how asinine is that?!? Seems to me that chances are it's the homeless who need food support the most!! What's the reasoning behind that (if you know)?

Because then people who have money cannot scam off the government. That's what they say, anyways. I think it is more along the lines of people really not caring.

 

[Knittin' in the Shade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies Because then people who have money cannot scam off the government. That's what they say, anyways. I think it is more along the lines of people really not caring.

I don't understand what you're saying here. Do you mean they think people who have money will pretend they are homeless just to scam food?

 

[~member~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade I don't understand what you're saying here. Do you mean they think people who have money will pretend they are homeless just to scam food?

Yes. They are really big on welfare fraud and such, here.

 

[kama'aina mama]

This is an analysis of US Census Dept data.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodSecurity/trends

Quote:

How Was the Study Conducted? Data for the ERS food security report come from an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS). USDA sponsors the survey, and ERS compiles and analyzes the responses. The food security supplement covers about 50,000 households and is a representative sample of the U.S. civilian population of 113 million households. The food security survey asks households 18 questions about experiences and behaviors that indicate food insecurity. Based on their responses, households are classified as food secure, food insecure without hunger, or food insecure with hunger. Hunger among children is measured by responses to a subset of questions about the conditions and experiences of children. Survey respondents also report the amounts their households spent on food and whether they used public or private food assistance programs.

 

[kama'aina mama]

But we're not talking about welfare. We are talking about food pantries.

I suspect that there are a number of reasons that they want to have the homeless come in and eat at a soup kitchen rather than hand them a few cans of soup.

 

[oldermamato5]

I am listening to you,keep this thread going!

 

[Knittin' in the Shade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies Yes. They are really big on welfare fraud and such, here.

oh, good gracious; that is ridiculous!!

Are there many shelters and churches that fill in the gap for those who are homeless?

 

[~member~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade oh, good gracious; that is ridiculous!! Are there many shelters and churches that fill in the gap for those who are homeless?

No.

 

[MamaChel]

I have seen people in line at the food pantry wearing their brand new brand name clothing, listening to their IPOD and playing their PSP while discussing the food pantry they will hit tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. Some people really do take advantage of the system. I mostly feel very sad for them, they must have some reason for doing what they do.
we could go every month to one and every other month to 2 others but we only go when we are in dire need.

 

[Ruthla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade how asinine is that?!? Seems to me that chances are it's the homeless who need food support the most!! What's the reasoning behind that (if you know)?

I once had a homeless friend. A local church (the one with the food pantry) let him use the church address as his legal address for his driver's liscence, etc. I'm sure that other churches do similar things. Interestingly enough, he didn't qualify for food stamps, or Medicaid, or housing assistance.

 

[WanderingWombat]

Back when I was on welfare and living in a 360 sq.ft. ground-floor slum, I had to use the Food Bank to subsidize what I had left after rent for groceries. I shopped in bulk at the AG Foods, often spending 100 bucks on Welfare Day to stock my fridge, freezer, and cupboards with the most efficient cost/weight food I could get, and I went to the Food Bank every Wednesday for breads, buns, and canned food. Many, MANY of the people who were at the Food Bank with me DROVE THERE!!! If I got there late, then they were out of food by the time I got to the front of the line, while people in street-racing Sunfires were driving off with the ten dollars worth of groceries they had taken away from people like me who actually needed it.

Of course, I'm not saying people on Welfare should be given whatever they want (trust me, it sucked so bad that I worked even harder to get off Welfare) but I am definitely saying that even where I live, in a fairly nice town in Canda with social security and stuff, people are abusing the system big-time.

 

[kama'aina mama]

Can we please have a discussion about poverty and hunger that does not get sidetracked by anecdotes about people who cheat the system?

 

[WanderingWombat]

All right. Let's spend 1/10th of the defense budget feeding, clothing, housing and educating every single poor person on the continent. I don't think you guys really need ALL those nuclear missiles...

 

[~member~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruthla I once had a homeless friend. A local church (the one with the food pantry) let him use the church address as his legal address for his driver's liscence, etc. I'm sure that other churches do similar things. Interestingly enough, he didn't qualify for food stamps, or Medicaid, or housing assistance.

If you are homeless, you cannot get any food support, medical, or housing. If he had the church listed as his address, then one look at the net worth of the church building/address would disqualify him.

In Minneapolis the shelter charges you rent for staying. Even though you don't pay up front, they bill you and take it off any future cash assistance you might get.
It makes it almost impossible to get a home or rent because you get too much bad credit.
The system is set up to keep you down, not help you up.