Half Of US Poor Not Getting Food Stamps

A recent study printed by the McClatchy Washington Bureau show a disturbing fact. According to a study by the National Priorities Project, just over half of those people eligible for food stamps ion the US are not getting them. Greg Speeter, the project’s executive director said “while the food-stamp program provides a vital service, clearly too many people are still going without."

Authors of the study cited many reasons for the disparities, including the stigma of government benefits, eligibility rules and lack of information about the benefits. To be eligible a family has to be in very dire straits, 130 percent of the poverty level. So these are people for whom food is a really basic insecurity issue.

I have to wonder how we can continue to hear reports of how well our economy is doing with so many folks needing food assistance? Feeding the hungry is one of those issues that Jesus talks about over and over in the Bible, but only a few fundamentalists would include reducing hunger as a priority over protesting gay marriage or abortion. Maybe it’s time to read the “red letters” in the Bible as well.