It’s a pretty safe bet that food (and water) are the most important things in the world. In fact, we’d even go so far as to say that our very survival depends on it, which, of course, it does.

So when several experts gather together once a year to talk about hunger, malnourishment and unhealthy food choices here in Delaware County, it’s important to listen to what they say.

This is the sixth year for the annual hunger conference, which took place Friday at Widener University. Its primary goal is to explore the causes of hunger and seek out solutions, but it also takes a look at the food choices we all make and the health consequences of poor nutrition.

This year’s guest speakers included members of Ciudadanos públicos para niños y jóvenes, a child advocacy group that took a look at the county’s most vulnerable children. These kids from low-income and poverty-stricken homes may not know what it means to have three square meals a day. Some depend on subsidized school breakfasts and lunches just to get enough to eat, while their parents struggle to find food cheaply with less and less help from the government.

Tea Party supporters will be proud to know that the federal government has cut the SNAP (food stamp) funding twice, once in November and again in February. According to PCCY, this means that families depending on monthly government food subsidies will have to make due with even less. With the November cuts, a family of three lost $29 a month, or $348 a year. That equates to about 16 meals a month, according to PCCY. A potential 175,000 Pennsylvania households stand to lose another $65 a month in SNAP benefits following the February cuts. Families dependent on those food subsidies are finding that the food is running out before the month is over.

Sure, taxes are high. Yea, government spends too much money wastefully, but, come on, these are starving kids. What would Jesus do, you know what we’re saying? Not every family in need is made up of dead beats looking for free food and money. Sometimes there’s just no where else to turn.

Worst of all? This is happening in a nation with an overabundance of food and an obesity problem. It’s downright criminal.

And lest you think this is just about kids, the hunger conference also focused on senior citizens over 65, often living alone, who may also be malnourished. Sixteen percent of them, in fact. Even college kids may starve, as they forego food in order to cover the costs of student loans and other expenses.

Hunger can be an invisible problem, and those who need food subsidies are often stigmatized as lazy or cheats, but there’s a real imbalance out there that needs to be addressed if people can’t get enough to eat, especially in our land of plenty.

Delaware County News Network – March 14, 2014 – Leer artículo en línea