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Hunger and the Farm Bill Fact Sheet
JULY 2007
Download this fact sheet
"Where Have I Seen You Hungry?"
The Hungry Among Us
Responding to Need
Farm Bill and Hunger
Take Action!
In the Ten Commandments we are directed “thou shalt not kill.”
Martin Luther wrote and the ELCA social statements reflect that this
encompasses more than ending someone’s life: “If you see anyone
suffer hunger and do not feed [them], you have let [them] starve.”
As Lutherans, we have a responsibility to actively respond to those
deprived of food and nourishment. If we allow hunger to exist, we
effectively commit an injustice as grave as harming the life of
another human being.
"Where Have I Seen You Hungry?"
Since the advent of national nutrition programs, hunger in the
United States has changed. It’s rarely chronic and very few people
are undernourished. The way we describe hunger has even shifted from
the availability of adequate food resources in a given population,
to an individual’s ability to obtain food from safe sources on a
regular basis. People in our country who were once designated as
hungry are now described as food insecure when they do not have a
dependable source of food.
And yet the reality of hunger has not changed. To feel hungry, to be
without a meal or constantly worried about where one’s food comes
from is physically, mentally and emotionally agonizing. 11% of our
American community is food insecure, an increase in recent years.
This is 35.1 million households, 10.7 million whose source of food
is so sporadic that they suffer the gravest level of hunger
designated by the USDA (very low food security.)
The Scriptures declare thematically God’s special concern for the
poor and oppressed. Who then are the hungry, and where can we seek
justice in our society by imitating Jesus’ ministry to our neighbors
in need?
The Hungry Among Us
Prevalence of Household Food Insecurity
- All households: 11.0%
- Households with children under 18: 15.6%
- With children under 6: 16.7%
- Elderly living alone: 6.4%
2005 Household Food Insecurity Rate by Region
- Inside metropolitan area: 10.8%
- Outside metropolitan areas: 12.0%
Children
- In food insecure households: 12.4 million
Working Poor
- In 2002, 1 in 4 low-income families (incomes at 200% of the
federal poverty level) with one full-time, full-year worker was food
insecure and housing insecure.
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Household Food Security in the United States, 2005
Responding to Need
Food assistance programs were born of the Great Depression and grew
in capacity during the 1960s and 1970s when hunger and food access
became an issue of national concern. Our role as a public church
encourages us to engage government institutions which care for the
vulnerable and support the well being of our society.
Federal nutrition programs reach millions of Americans that qualify
for assistance. They are often the first response our nation has
against hunger.
Farm Bill and Hunger
One important piece of legislation that impacts hungry people is the
Farm Bill, which is currently being debated in Congress. Included in
this legislation is a nutrition title which covers the Food Stamp
program, food for food banks and pantries (TEFAP), and community
grants to local anti-hunger initiatives. These programs are vital to
our country’s response to hunger and Congress must ensure that they
are strong and adequately funded.
Federal Food Assistance in the Farm Bill (2006)
Food Stamp Program
- Average monthly participation: 26.7 million
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2006,
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/FactSheets/FSP_Quick_Facts.htm
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Over half of all food stamp recipients are
children and another quarter are elderly or disabled persons.
The Almanac of Hunger and Poverty, 2007,
America's Second Harvest
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USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS)
estimates that each $1 billion of retail demand by food stamps
generates $340 million in farm production, $110 million in farm
value-added, and 3,300 farm jobs; and each $5 of food stamps
generates almost $10 in total economic activity.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2002,
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/GeneralEconomy/linkages.htm
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
Take Action!
This is your opportunity to use your voice to help end hunger in the
U.S. Urge Congress to:
- Increase food stamp access and benefits so that more low-income
families can participate and can afford to purchase healthier foods.
- Eliminate restrictions in the Food Stamp program that disadvantage
savings accounts.
- Remove the five year waiting period for eligible legal immigrants
for food stamps.
- Fund community food security grants that support local initiatives
to combat hunger.
Download this fact sheet
Learn More
Farm
Bill Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Farm Bill?
- What are subsidies and commodities?
- What solutions does the Farm Bill offer
in addressing hunger in this country?
- How does the Farm Bill address
conservation and protection of land?
- How does U.S. farm policy impact farmers
at home and around the globe?
- What progress has the Farm Bill made in
building a stronger rural America?
- What voice does the Lutheran church lend
to discussion and debate about the Farm Bill?
Download "The ELCA and the Farm
Bill" Brochure
Religious Working Group on the
Farm Bill Statement of Principles
Get Involved
Join Faith Farm Teams
Join the ELCA Farm Bill
online discussion on LutherLink
(If you are not yet a member of LutherLink, you can
register here.)
Take the Food Stamp
Challenge!
June 2007
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