So, I won’t be talking about the absurdity of all those folks who decided to travel to family homes for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, their ill-conceived (except for the desperate attempt to bond with one’s family) travel won’t mean one of their holiday presents is COVID-19.
But, something else became evident over the Thanksgiving holiday. That our government has failed to provide for our weakest citizens.
Before the pandemic, we knew that some 40 million citizens were food insecure. Now, that figure is closer to 80 million folks- about ¼ of the total population of the USA.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at those parades of cars lining up to get food. And, this year, turkey wasn’t one of the items in the food boxes they got.
And, sure, folks like me who donate routinely to Mazon (A Jewish response to hunger), SOME (So Others Might Eat), Philabundance, City Harvest, City Schoolyard, and Feeding America are making a dent in this problem. But, these food pantries, soup kitchens, mobile sites were never going to fully meet the needs of the hungry in the USA.
To be honest, the largest such charity, Feeding America, only has a $ 2 billion budget. That’s chicken feed when compared to the $ 70 billion SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called Food Stamps) federal program. Even the National School Lunch Program ($14 billion) eclipses the efforts of Feeding America.
By the way, that $ 70 billion SNAP program? It works out to $ 1.40 per meal ($4.20 per day). Not the luxurious program its enemies declare as they denounce it. Nor do the detractors identify another simple fact- every SNAP dollar generates about $1.50 in local economic activity.
And, SNAP has income and asset eligibility limits. The USDA (the Department of Agriculture) under TheDonald has been drastically restricting the benefits to folks that he wants to marginalize.
Oh, and yes, about those folks who have gorgeous cars waiting in line…How come it hasn’t dawned on you that they are among the displaced workers the COVID-19 pandemic disgorged?
Please give. To one of the organizations I mentioned above- or one you know that meets the local needs and is at least a 4 star on Charity Navigator (which means most of the money ends up on the programs you hope you are funding).
And, write your Senator and Congressperson. We need aid to those in need- which also helps keep our economy from fizzling out during the pandemic.
COVID has hit so many in ways other than having the virus. We always give to our local food organizations but this year we will be doing more. Everyone deserves a good meal.
Martha recently posted..Tips on Saving Money
I’m with you, Martha. We need to help those in need- now.
It’s great you are helping to shine a light on the collateral damage caused by this pandemic, it is truly sad. We are our brothers keeper and this level of food insecurity just isn’t acceptable in this day and age.
Barb recently posted..What you need to do to create the perfect About Us page
It can’t be just me! t\This problem is huge and we all need to help- and lean on our government officials to remedy this terrible situation.
Thanks for the visit, Barb!