The Increasing Impact of Rising Food Prices
Low-income Americans are especially feeling the pinch of rising expenses and the floundering economy. Many families try to meet the high cost of housing, energy, and health care before they deal with staggeringly high food prices. An estimated 35.5 million Americans, including 12.6 million children, are now food insecure. From September 2007 to September 2008, the cost of food rose 7.6 percent. In a post-election Alliance to End Hunger poll, 58% of American voters said they have been impacted by rising food prices. These higher food costs are the most dramatic for low-income people—between September 2007 and September 2008, the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan (a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate of the cheapest necessary food) rose 10.3 percent.
The 2008 Farm Bill reauthorized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps), to help low-income families purchase enough food. Despite the help SNAP provides to millions of families, millions more who are eligible are not receiving the benefits. Many Americans recognize the need to do something about this hunger crisis: 64 percent of Americans interviewed in the Alliance to End Hunger poll support the inclusion of a temporary increase in food stamps in an economic stimulus package. The next president and Congress must act quickly to help the growing number of American families who worry about putting food on the table, by increasing the benefit (currently about $96 per person each month) and increasing awareness about and accessibility to the benefits.
Read more from the Food Research and Action Center.
Tags: Hunger
