Blogging to End Hunger

If you don’t have time to read a whole post, I’m going to cut to the chase. I’m running a fundraiser for Feeding America to help stop hunger. You can donate by clicking on the image below. $1 to Feeding America helps feed 8 people. Every dollar counts. Thank you for helping.

I ran out of milk on Friday. This wasn’t a big deal, more of nuisance than a problem. It meant that after kindergarten drop off, I would load the baby into the car and drive to the store for a gallon of milk. I don’t even know what milk costs because I’m going to buy it no matter what. It’s a staple. My kids drink it every day. Buying an extra gallon before grocery shopping day won’t break the bank. No biggie.

If you’re like me, that’s what running out of milk is like. But what about for people for whom the cost of milk is major? What if you’re a mom who runs out of milk in the financial no man’s land of days between when your food stamps allotment for the month runs out but before your next paycheck comes in? What if the choice is between milk and bus fare to get to work? Milk or the electric bill? Milk or heat?

People make these choices every day. These aren’t stories made up by the liberal left to pull at America’s heartstrings. Food insecurity is a real thing and it affects 14% of households. It can be particularly devastating to children, who may rely on school meals or summer meal programs for reliable food. Maybe not every family is facing food shortages every day of the year. But a family that faces food shortages even a few days per month is a family under enormous stress.

Think about it. How would you feel if you weren’t sure how to feed your kids during the three days after the fridge emptied out but before you get paid? How would your kids feel?

A compassionate nation, a nation that followed FDR’s edict to live up to it’s potential by offering the best help to those who have too little, would not have a significant hunger problem. We would have mechanisms in place to aid all families in need of help providing food. Or course we do have a massive federal/state partnership program called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). But SNAP falls short. And if the House of Representatives gets its way, it will fall even shorter.

On Thursday, the House voted to cut SNAP by $39 billion over 10 years. That’s $4 billion fewer dollars for food assistance to hungry people each year.

I’m too angry to talk about the politics of that vote. I actually know a bit about the why’s and how’s of the cuts and who was driving this crazy train and it’s totally ideological. There is no sound policy reason for it. I know the Senate has an alternate package with lower levels of cuts and there will have to be compromise but that’s not really the issue. The issue is I am an American citizen and I am DAMNED if I’m going to sit idly by while my fellow citizens go hungry.

I have started a virtual food drive at Feeding America, a non-profit organization that partners with food banks in every sate to bring food for families who need it. I am a big fan of food banks and the work they do and I frequently contribute to the ones in my area. I’m asking you to join me in making contributions, large or small, to aid families in need of food. Just click here to get to my fundraising page and donate whatever you can. If you can’t make a financial contribution, please consider donating non-perishable items to a food bank in your area. If you won’t miss the cans of soup and beans that are sitting in the back of your cupboards, please donate them. Someone will appreciate them.

Thank you for helping!

If you have a blog and would like to join me, here’s the code for the button-link to the virtual food drive page. Join up and together we can blog to end hunger!

 

<a href=”http://help.feedingamerica.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1140&pxfid=9840” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.stayathomepundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/hunger-e1379808586725.jpg” alt=”Blogging To End Hunger” width=”250″ height=”199″ /></a>