There’s no better way to start the day than a delicious stack of pancakes from Big Bad Breakfast. For most people in Oxford, this is just an average weekday morning. But for others, both in Mississippi and around the country, breakfast is more of a luxury than a routine.
Fifty million Americans are food insecure, which means they are unsure about where their next meal will come from. Mississippi has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation: they hover around 20.9 percent and are perhaps the most obvious manifestations of poverty in the state.
In the United States, almost one out of every two children will receive food assistance at some point in their childhood. How can we expect the future leaders of this country to be high achievers in the classroom if they are too preoccupied with their empty stomachs?
The problem seems dire. Fortunately, we have government programs designed to address the growing problem of food insecurity in this country. Specifically, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, has been crucial in the fight against hunger, providing low-income families with resources to make basic food purchases.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that nearly 4.7 million people were kept above the poverty line due to SNAP. Moreover, the USDA reports that for each dollar in SNAP benefits, there is $1.80 in economic activity.
Yet, the stigma surrounding hunger—and food assistance—remains.
Conservative pundits paint a picture of an abused system, in which manipulative people take advantage of the assistance programs while sitting on their couches. Even in less extreme forms, those opposed to governmental food assistance often rely on rhetoric that falsely depicts those receiving the resources as lazy and unmotivated.
But the reality is quite different. The estimated rate of food stamp trafficking has fallen to about one cent per dollar, and the accuracy rate of the program has reached 96.2 percent, placing it well above other government benefit programs such as Medicare. The USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that 85 percent of households that have food-insecure children also have at least one working adult. Seventy-six percent of the households that receive SNAP benefits have a child, elderly person, or disabled person.
But while the negative stereotype of a food assistance recipient dominates the national conversation, the push to cut such programs will persist. The new proposal by House Republicans, expected to be fully released later this week, is leading that charge.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the House proposal would cut funding for SNAP by $40 billion over 10 years. Such an extreme measure would force 4 to 6 million people out of the program, leaving them to struggle to simply put food on the table for their families.
As if that isn’t bad enough, the proposed cut would be in addition to the impending expiration of increased benefits the 2009 Recovery Act provided to SNAP. The end of the act in November will result in the average SNAP benefits per person per meal dropping from $1.50 to less than $1.40.
SNAP is a reflection of the idea that any family at any time can experience hardship and need a little extra support. As our country slowly climbs out of the recession, we must recognize that many people have yet to find full-time employment with a livable wage.
September is Hunger Action Month, a chance to make an impact in the fight to end hunger in the United States.
It’s time to stop worrying about whether a small minority of those receiving benefits might be getting something they “don’t deserve.” Instead, let’s focus on the fact that 28 percent of children in Mississippi face going to bed hungry. Let’s consider that in the richest country in the world, one in six Americans are food insecure. Let’s tell our elected representatives that funding cuts are not the answer to our economic woes.
And, finally, let’s recognize that the ability to go to Big Bad Breakfast every week truly is an indulgence that so many Americans will never be able to enjoy.
Christine Dickason is a junior public policy leadership major from Collierville, Tenn.
