The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    trkingmomoe's picture

    One in Five Children Are on Food Stamps

    By trkingmomoe on Thu, 01/29/2015 - 1:55am |

    Yesterday the US Census Bureau released a press report on the amount of children receiving food stamps. This is on their annual Families and Living Arrangements  report. The press release is titled "One in Five Children Receive Food Stamps, Census Bureau Reports."

    That is 16 million kids who's families rely on food stamps.  This report came out on the heels of a report by the Southern Education Foundations, which reported that 51% of children in school is living in poverty. These numbers are sobering. What this is telling us that even though wealth has increased since the great recession that a large part of out society has not recovered.  We have more families now in this group then we had in 2007.  

    Associated Press Reported

    Around 46.5 million people received food stamps last year, according to the Agriculture Department, which oversees the aid, up from around 26 million in 2007. Participation is expected to decrease over the next 10 years, though higher food costs could keep spending up.

    Half of the children receiving food stamps in the Census survey — 8 million — were living only with their mothers. Around 5 million children receiving food stamps lived with married parents.

    The spike in food stamp spending has caught the attention of Congress, and House Republicans tried to cut the program by around $4 billion a year in 2013. In an eventual compromise, Congress agreed to cuts of around $800 million a year, policy that was signed into law by President Barack Obama early last year as part of a larger farm bill. Since then, many states have found ways to get around the cuts.

     http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/census-children-food-stamps-28557305

    The Republicans will go after the SNAP program again because they want to retry reducing it the same way they failed to pass last year.  If they do go after another cut, the President should veto it even if it is attached to another bill. This is not the kids' fault and we have no moral reason to make it worse for them. They represent the poorest of the poor.  Food stamps have already been cut back and these families are receiving less then what they had. The cost of food has since gone up.  

    There has been no recovery for young families.  In fact the report also show that young people are waiting longer to get married. The same thing happened during the 1930's depression because young people could not afford to marry;

    The number of marriages also dwindled last year with less than half of households in America made up of married couples, compared to three-quarters in 1940, the survey found.

    The median age for people first getting married in 2014 was 29 for men and 27 for women up from 24 and 21 respectively in 1947.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/28/us-usa-economy-families-idUSKBN0L12E120150128 

    With so many still reeling from the economic down turn of 2008, the food banks are strained to keep up with the need.

    Ross Fraser, a spokesman for the Chicago-based nonprofit Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks, said, "For the people we serve, the economic recovery has not happened for millions of these households." He added, "you will not find a food bank in the country that will tell you the need for emergency food has diminished."

     http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/almost-twice-as-many-kids-helped-by-food-stamps-than-before-recession-1.9876894

    It is up to us to keep this story out there and to put pressure on Congress to do the right thing and stop cutting the safety net to our children.  This country's future depends on it because our children is our future. 

    Comments

    I have discussed my personal finances far too much but I still do not understand why I receive sixteen bucks a month for food stamps.

    On the other hand I do not think that a couple hundred bucks a year is breaking the governments.

    I do recall one important fact that I have experienced and witnessed.

    There is no human being as hungry as a boy in his teens.

    That boy needs four thousand calories a day.

    Now during the last few decades, maybe fewer kids are walking, running, biking and playing stick ball.

    But kids need more food than fat old men.

    And food shelves have limits, both in accessibility and shortages.

    The food stamp program (EBT) is a wonder. You cannot purchase beer or even toilet paper.

    You must purchase food.

    The big farming corporations benefit greatly from this program and so does grocery store industry.

    And the old shame involved in this program has really evaporated.

    What I have problems with involve the food shelves.

    There are people out there who somehow cannot get food stamps, I guess.

    I am thinking of women who have to run away from an aggressive spouse/mate with children and it takes a short time to sign up for EBT.

    I am just rambling again.

    I know that EBT does not complete the poverty picture.

    There could and should be governmental programs available to make sure everyone who can work, has a job. We need bridge repair and mass transit and....

    Of course, in our current political situation, that aint gonna happen.


    by Richard Day on Thu, 01/29/2015 - 12:44pm

    Thanks Richard for your honesty.  It brings the facts closer to home. 

    Politically it is a mess right now, that is why this is an important issue.  The growth in poverty has been in the middle class not the chronic poor.  Many of these people have carried the brunt of this down turn and the rich needs to understand their wealth is coming from these people's sacrifices. It is a message that needs to stay in the public's eye.  I am glad that the current administration is now making a real effort to get this message out. 

    It is hard work to be poor.  It is hard work to make SNAP or a food bank box feed a family. Since they can't take anymore money from you, they take your time from you and make you wait through the process. Food banks can be hit and miss or feast or famine.  You can end up with only 10 pounds of rice with bugs, stale bread and very little of any thing else or it can be a bounty of fresh produce and a couple of pounds of meat.  Charity isn't able to meet the nutritional needs of a family.  At best, it can only keep hunger down. 

    It is good that President is making sure the statistics on this is being put out there in big press releases to the media.  I hope this keeps up every month. 


    by trkingmomoe on Thu, 01/29/2015 - 5:35pm

    As long as food prices are high and wages are low nothing is going to change.  We have two more years, maybe more, of the pretense that trickle down will eventually work.  No, it won't.  It never will.  It never has.  But as long as they can find an audience for their lies about big government nannies, bootstrap-pulling, and human weaknesses causing poverty, we won't get the crowds to protest against this insanity.

    It's always easier to blame the victims than to have to admit you've been supporting the perpetrators.


    by Ramona on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 9:25am

    If people think the Democrats care about them they will go and vote, but If they only hear them talk about the Keystone Pipe all the time they know their not important. That is why an issue like this is important and needs to stay front and center.  There has not been jobs or a recovery for the bottom half.  ( I think some of the Democrats voted for closure just enough so Keystone Pipe debate would end with the Presidents veto. It is time to move on to another idiot idea of theirs. This was their jobs bill.)

     


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 2:10pm

    This NPR article from last November describes the "double-up" idea, which allows SNAP users to receive additional voucher funds to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from Farmer's Markets. The number of markets authorized to accept SNAP is increasing rapidly, and the idea to stretch food stamp dollars is remarkably simple. The card is used for purchases, then some sort of voucher is given to the customer worth a percentage of their purchase, and those are used to buy fresh produce. When it started out, the program was completely funded by private donations. But the plan became so popular and successful that it made it's way into the Farm Bill. The federal government will provide $100 million dollars (though must be matched with private funds) to expand the program.

    The idea started with a few people who saw a problem and took a direct approach to try fixing it. Then they kept going - all the way to Congress. There don't appear to be too many downsides to the idea - perhaps the most exciting part is the current push to get grocery stores on board.


    by barefooted on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 4:21pm

    This is a wonderful link Missy.

    Really.

    I have already written about my experience with gout.

    Carrots and spinach and broccoli and Sweet potatoes cured my problem.

    I think that the same formula would have worked with my horrendous acne fifty years ago.

    I never heard of this program which means tens of millions of folks never heard of it.

    Just as an aside, I asked my daughter-in-law a couple years ago what she feeds her precious.

    And she told me about Brussels sprouts and how she would bake them with a little olive oil and I said:

    This shall become her comfort food, years from now.

    Little kids do not suffer from gout. hahahaha

    But they learn what they like.

    Hell, I just like this link a lot.

    And I love this link.

    the end


    by Richard Day on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 5:04pm

    So far nothing like that is happening in this area because my neighbors would be talking about it.  I know the articles that I sited said some states have found a way around the food stamp cuts, maybe this is what they are doing? There is a large farmer's market near by, so I will take a look this month to see if there is signs up saying they except EBT or SNAP.  So far I have not noticed anything like that. This is the middle of our growing season in South Florida. 

    Thanks for the link. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 5:06pm

    Florida Organic Growers markets have a "fresh access bucks" program at 20 locations statewide.


    by barefooted on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 6:04pm

    There is none close enough to go to.  The one in South Sarasota County is in a bedroom community that is 40 minutes away. It does show that there is plenty of hidden poverty in the suburbs.  


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 01/31/2015 - 1:38am

    Well, at least you know it's there - and there may be others that aren't part of FOG. If someone in your neighborhood has a vehicle large enough, maybe some time a group of you can take a road trip!


    by barefooted on Sat, 01/31/2015 - 4:01pm

    We do that sometimes, but  we stay closer to home.  The last time was in November.  The local food banks did not have turkeys like they did in the past.  So I took some ladies to the suburbs for $.59 per pound turkey sale.  Our local chain food store did not get any in but the manager told us who did. This chain store always has a good sale on them every year.  I do the driving so it would not benefit me to make the trip. Maybe the local organic farmers market will start this.  


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 01/31/2015 - 6:53pm

    MOMOE, you discuss serious issues and comment and blog.

    But damn, you hitt the headlines today.

    I get there about three times a year.

    THIS IS A BIG DEAL TO ME.

    I hope you relish this!

    ha


    by Richard Day on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 7:21pm

    I guess my experience shows through when I write about subjects like this.  I am usually venting more then thinking about being on the front page. It is the end of the month and I usually get like this.  

    Well, we keep hearing on MSM that we have recovered and unemployment is only 5.6% and I don't see it at all.  It didn't happen here.  

    I ran into this today on HufPo.  I haven't researched it out yet.  This is another poverty issue that needs focus.

    Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School in Northern Minnesota has leaky roofs, poor lighting and an exhaust system that smells like sewage. Last school year, part of the roof caved in while students were in class. The floors are uneven, and if something goes awry, some hallways are too narrow for students to evacuate safely.

    And yet, over 200 Native American students call the school home.

    The pictures just break your heart that this government has neglected these children's education.  You are freezing your butts off right now in Northern Minnesota.  No wonder Native American children have a high drop out rate from high school. This is shameful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/30/obama-budget-native-american-education_n_6458184.html  

     


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 01/31/2015 - 2:36am

    Damn their eyes, Momoe.

    Children going hungry. Young people without hope. The old and the sick unable to retire. 

    And everybody - or at least 99% of us everybodies - living our lives in anxiety and uncertainty. 

    What a world we've created, eh? 

    This nonsense needs changing.

    But cutting off food to children is the worst.

    Damn their eyes.


    by Q (not verified) on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 8:37pm

    Ahhhhhhhhhhh Q, you cannot help yourself sometimes. hahahahah

    YOU ARE HUMAN.

    I knew this, intrinsically. hhahahah

    My faith in humanity remains!

     


    by Richard Day on Fri, 01/30/2015 - 9:15pm

    It will change.  You can't expect this young generation to continue to go along with all the GOP crazies. 

    Thanks for your comment. 


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 01/31/2015 - 2:58am