Food Insecurity is a Year Round Thing

The unemployment rate for the US is low. New jobs have been created since 2021. Wages are up. Inflation is slowing down, finally. There’s enough disposable income to permit fun like vacations and concerts.

So why are more people than ever signing up for SNAP benefits? Wait….this isn’t adding up. Why?

Well, according to NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/americans-are-going-hungry-strong-economy-rcna128105, these are the reasons why:

1. Food prices are bonkers (my word, not theirs). The costs of basics like hamburger ( more than $5/lb in many markets) and dairy milk (hovering around $4/gallon) and plain old white bread ($2) have increased around 25% since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
2. According to Zillow, rent is up by about 30% also since the pandemic.
3. Utilities have gone up as well. One of the people interviewed in the article can’t afford to turn on her heat because of this. She’s bundling up herself and her baby to keep warm.

I would also add medical expenses to this list. Those don’t help.

Two other things that didn’t help: the expiration of enhanced SNAP benefits from the pandemic along with the end of the Child Tax Credit courtesy of the Republicans. For more details, here’s this from Common Dreams: https://www.commondreams.org/news/jarring-wake-up-call-hunger-surges-in-us-after-food-aid-cuts.

Issues like food insecurity and homelessness come to the forefront between the first part of November and January 2 because of the holidays and the spirit of giving and year end tax breaks and all that. However, keep in mind that this is happening year round, Gentle Readers.

Next year will not be for the faint of heart when it comes to attempts to reweave the social safety net. It is promising to be a doozy. We have a US presidential election that looks like a showdown between good and evil. Likely some Congress and Senate races will be the same. Some investment gurus are predicting a recession. There’s the ongoing violence in too many hot spots to name. And there’s anxiety from climate change humming away in the background.

Just for today, let’s focus on keeping our neighbors fed:

• Donate cash to your local food pantry. I don’t know whether it’s alchemy or deals made with food producers or a little of both, but they can turn every dollar donated into $8 of groceries.
• If you buy canned goods, please get something with protein in it like soups, stews, canned tuna, salmon, chicken, or turkey. Someone I know in common circles had to rely on a local pantry after a divorce and she and her daughter ate pasta, Parmesan, and tomato sauce for the better part of a year. Not good for a growing child. A lot of clients have diabetes and a steady diet of carbs does them no good.
• Encourage your congressional rep to support the Farm Bill. That contains several measures to get people more food.
• And for the love of humanity or whatever deity or deities you believe in, VOTE!