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In 2010, there were 48.8 million individuals living in households that had problems meeting their needs for food (termed a food insecure household), 16 % of the U.S. population. This was measured by criteria such as relying on soup kitchens or food pantries, cutting back on food (not for dieting), and facing uncertainty regarding the next time food will be available.
Malnourishment compromises the immune system, making hungry and food insecure people more susceptible to disease.
Children who live in hungry and food insecure households get sick more frequently, miss school more often, and perform worse in school.
The research shows that hungry and food insecure children are more susceptible to cognitive impairment, more likely to engage in antisocial behaviors, and more in need of both medical and mental health interventions.
References:
K. Alaimo and others, “Food Insufficiency, Family Income and Health in U.S. Pre-School and School-aged Children,” American Journal of Public Health 91 (5) (2001): 781–786;
C.A. Wehler, R.I. Scott, and J.J. Anderson, “Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project” (Washington: Food Research and Action Center, 1995);
Murphy and others, “Relationship between Hunger and Psychosocial Functioning in Low-Income American Children”;
L.L. Reid, “The Consequences of Food Insecurity for Child Well-Being: An Analysis of Children’s School Achievement, Psychological Well-Being, and Health,” Working Paper 137 (Joint Center for Poverty Research, Northwestern University/University of Chicago, 2000);
J. Winicki and K. Jemison, “Food Insecurity and Hunger in the Kindergarten Classroom: Its Effect on Learning and Growth,” Journal of Contemporary Economic Policy 21 (2) (2003): 145–157.
Brandeis University Center on Hunger and Poverty, “The Consequences of Hunger and Food Security for Children” (2002); M.C. Weinstein and others, “Recommendations of the Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine,” Journal of the American Medical Association 276 (15) (1996): 1253–1258.
Nobody who is overweight should receive food stamps.
The real next frontier in the war on obesity should be the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or "food stamps." Some 38 million people — one in eight Americans — rely on this program, up from one in 50 in the 1970s. Food stamps have done a good job fighting hunger since their 1964 roll-out, but as the program has grown, so has the percentage of Americans who are obese — from 13% in the early 1960s to about 35%. Now there's some evidence the two are related. Jay Zagorsky, a scientist at Ohio State University, has calculated that, controlling for socioeconomic status, women who received food stamps were more likely to be overweight than non-recipients. They gained weight faster while receiving assistance than when not.
I have read through this whole thread, and have to say that most people are angry about welfare/food stamps because it is so badly abused by so many (I'm sorry, but the mantra of "it's just a very small percentage is just not true). Even the NY Post reported on the abuse where welfare cards could be used in liquor stores, strip clubs, bars, casinos etc. it happened in California as well as Colorado and I'm sure many other states. This should make every single person in this country sick to their stomachs. You are always going to have people abuse the system whenever and wherever they can, but the fact that the gov't allows this to happen and does nothing is just beyond my comprehension. I am all for helping the disabled and the elderly who can't work (many, many of them are trying to raise grandchildren or great grands to keep the kids out of foster care, and do a wonderful job with what they have) I will gladly give to them. But as soon as someone is caught abusing the system, they should be immediately cut off forever. If they have kids and they can't take care of them, then they should lose custody. My daughter worked in a grocery store for a while and was shocked at the number of people who came in and used their EBT cards on crab legs, T-bone steaks and other very expensive food. I'm all for helping out even able bodied people who are capable of working but lost their job for a limited amount of time until they get on their feet, but this generational welfare and welfare for years is ridiculous.
I have read through this whole thread, and have to say that most people are angry about welfare/food stamps because it is so badly abused by so many (I'm sorry, but the mantra of "it's just a very small percentage is just not true). Even the NY Post reported on the abuse where welfare cards could be used in liquor stores, strip clubs, bars, casinos etc. it happened in California as well as Colorado and I'm sure many other states. This should make every single person in this country sick to their stomachs. You are always going to have people abuse the system whenever and wherever they can, but the fact that the gov't allows this to happen and does nothing is just beyond my comprehension. I am all for helping the disabled and the elderly who can't work (many, many of them are trying to raise grandchildren or great grands to keep the kids out of foster care, and do a wonderful job with what they have) I will gladly give to them. But as soon as someone is caught abusing the system, they should be immediately cut off forever. If they have kids and they can't take care of them, then they should lose custody. My daughter worked in a grocery store for a while and was shocked at the number of people who came in and used their EBT cards on crab legs, T-bone steaks and other very expensive food. I'm all for helping out even able bodied people who are capable of working but lost their job for a limited amount of time until they get on their feet, but this generational welfare and welfare for years is ridiculous.
83 % of SNAP recipients are children, the elderly, and the disabled.
"The national rate of food stamp trafficking declined from about 3.8 cents per dollar of benefits redeemed in 1993 to about 1.0 cent per dollar during the years 2006 to 2008. USDA is aggressively fighting trafficking, but while there are individual cases of program abuse, for every one instance of fraud, there are hundreds of stories of heartbreaking need. "
Today government at all levels spends around $1 trillion a year on means tested anti-poverty programs. And that amount is just going up and up. Total federal and state welfare spending rose from $431 billion in 2000 to $927 billion in 2011.
Today government at all levels spends around $1 trillion a year on means tested anti-poverty programs. And that amount is just going up and up. Total federal and state welfare spending rose from $431 billion in 2000 to $927 billion in 2011.
83 % of SNAP recipients are children, the elderly, and the disabled.
"The national rate of food stamp trafficking declined from about 3.8 cents per dollar of benefits redeemed in 1993 to about 1.0 cent per dollar during the years 2006 to 2008. USDA is aggressively fighting trafficking, but while there are individual cases of program abuse, for every one instance of fraud, there are hundreds of stories of heartbreaking need. "
Nobody wants children, disabled or elderly to starve to death. What we want is a system that actually works and doesn't waste our hard earned tax dollars on welfare recipients abusing the system. When they put machines in strip clubs, casinos and bars that take welfare cards, there is a serious problem, and the rest of us who work hard have every right to get angry.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program -- already the most expensive defense acquisition program in U.S. history -- just got even more costly, to the tune of $771 million.
The Pentagon informed the Senate Armed Services Committee Monday that the first 28 production models of the F-35, some of the world's most technologically advanced fighters developed by defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, were going to cost the additional three quarters of a $1 billion, and the government will be picking up part of the tab.
The GAO estimates U.S. taxpayers will invest a total of $385 billion to develop and maintain 2,457 planes through 2035
If some aho is gamming the system and going to a ttitty bar or buying crab legs and ripple on his baby's EBT benefits...his cost and all others like him are far less a concern to me, then all those really needing help... have the help.
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Nobody who is overweight should receive food stamps.
