That the most prosperous nation in the world has millions of people grappling with hunger illustrates just how uncaring and out of touch many of us are.
We ought to all be ashamed. Not all of us, but many.
Regardless of your political affiliation or philosophy, our failure to stave off mass hunger despite the overwhelming prosperity we, as a nation, enjoy is worthy of the harshest condemnation and should prompt much-needed self-reflection.
I count myself among those who failed to realize just how dire the situation was. For decades, I chronicled hunger and hardships in other countries while remaining largely unaware of the situation back home.
In case you, like me, didn’t know how bad it was. Here are some stats:
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, as of 2023, the most recent data available, approximately 13.5% of US households experienced food insecurity at some point during the year.
To illustrate the gravity of the situation, let’s do a little math:
The US Census Bureau estimates that there were approximately 131 million households in the US as of 2023.
That means almost 18 million US households were food insecure in 2023.
Multiply the number by the size of the average household (approximately 2.5 people), and you get roughly 44 million individuals who don’t have enough to eat, representing about 13% of the US population.
Making matters worse, these horrifying figures are from before the current federal government shutdown left tens of millions of Americans, many of them children and the elderly, facing severe food shortages because their SNAP benefits are currently unavailable.
Fortunately, there are good people among us who’ve known all along about these difficulties and are doing their part. They’re keeping folks fed while the government remains shuttered and Trump drags his feet to restore SNAP benefits, which were available during previous shutdowns.
Volunteers and activists in our community have really stepped up in recent days. Read these stories about efforts in Ohio and West Virginia, where people are banding together to make sure others are getting enough to eat.
There good people in our community who work selflessly to make sure others can weather this man-made calamity. They deserve our highest praise.
I’m just embarrassed and ashamed that I can’t count myself among them.
