Hunger is not a Game

The other day, I saw an ad which made me start to wonder. To understand, you need some background is needed:

1) Spending and eligibility on the SNAP program (formerly Foodstamps) has risen by over 50% in the last three years.
2) Local food banks have expanded operations during the same time. In my town, we have a program called Neighbor to neighbor which I support. Programs exist which bring food to the elderly, to those who suffer from AIDS, to the homeless, and to many others.
3) State spending on assistance to those needing food has risen across the country even as some types of state spending have declined.

Now, let me tell you about the ad. It said that one in eight people in America do not know where their next meal is going to come from. That means that just under 40 million people are going hungry today. to put this in context, according to the federal government 46.4 million people used SNAP as of February of 2012. Many millions more get state assistance or help from private food banks. How can there possibly be still another 40 million people who are in such dire straits that they cannot tell from where the next meal will come.

I care about hunger; it should not exist in our society. But, I have to tell you that I have come seriously to wonder if the "food help" industry is overstating the case here. Someone ought to tell us all truthfully if there really is a major problem of folks who still do not get food to eat. If so, then we need to help them. I just wonder............