“…We instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.” This instruction from St. Paul is often used by persons critical of government nutrition programs. But, in fact, those programs are of crucial importance to many workers.
            Given our wealth and resources, there simply should not be the level of food insecurity that there is in our country today. The good news is that there has been a reduction in persons who are hungry in our society, but there is still much work to be done. More than 42.2 million Americans lived in households that struggled against hunger in 2015. This was a significant reduction from 2014. 13.1 million children live in households that do not have consistent access to sufficient food. This is also an improvement but it is still a very significant issue. Studies have shown that a lack of adequate nutrition in early childhood can lead to life-long deficits in what that person can achieve.  Hunger is a particular problem for Black and Hispanic households.
            The Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP – formerly ‘food stamps’) provides needed assistance to individuals and families who lack sufficient food. Studies of the SNAP program demonstrate that the vast majority of persons receiving SNAP benefits do work. The sad truth is that our nation subsidizes companies that fail to pay a living wage to their employees, or fail to give them sufficient hours to earn a living wage. SNAP not only helps individuals and families to eat, but it provides a larger economic stimulus as it enables SNAP recipients to pay other expenses such as medical care, clothing, home repairs and childcare. Finally, the SNAP program has rigorous safeguards in place to deter fraud and the government reports that the usual source of fraud are stores, not SNAP recipients. It makes sense for us a nation to strengthen the SNAP program given the benefits it provides to individuals and families and our overall economy.
            Given the surplus of wealth and resources that our nation enjoys, I am sure that St. Paul would exhort us to do more to ensure that all have sufficient food to eat – especially children.
                          Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J.