As we enter the holiday season and prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to focus on a very important issue facing far too many Americans and Hoosiers: Hunger.
It is estimated that 50 million Americans or one out of every six, struggle with hunger and food insecurity. In the district I represent, more than 67,000 children (36 percent) and over 95,000 women (25 percent) live in poverty.
Earlier this month, the struggles of poverty and food insecurity became even more difficult for many American families when Congress failed to deal with many looming budget matters in a comprehensive way.
Instead, my Republican colleagues in Washington chose to continue partisan brinksmanship and obstruction, allowing food stamp benefits to lapse for millions of Americans, including many in our local community. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “a household of three, such as a mother with two children, will lose $29 a month – a total of $319 for November 2013 through September 2014, the remaining 11 months of fiscal year 2014.”
For a family trying to make ends meet, a loss of $29 may mean having to choose between paying bills or putting food on the table.
There is no doubt that these cuts are already impacting our community. Indiana’s Seventh District ranked 11th on the 2008-2010 list of congressional districts with the highest rates of food hardship in households with children, making nutrition assistance that much more essential here in our backyard.
Without strong anti-hunger programs, over 160,000 women and Hoosier children living in poverty will go hungry in Marion County.
Like you, I understand that the numbers presented in this discussion are not just abstract figures and statistics; they are our friends and neighbors. These federal cuts to the most vulnerable in our society are taking 11 million meals from the tables of Central Indiana families.
WTHR recently reported these meals equate to, “all the food Gleaners Food Bank gave away all of 2013 in Marion County.” This is simply unacceptable.
You can count on me to continue supporting and protecting our Central Indiana families including those impacted by these recent food stamp cuts. But I cannot do it alone. I urge my fellow Hoosiers to move beyond simply discussing hunger. Stand up and take action to help those less fortunate in our community. Consider donating non-perishable food items to a local food bank or driving a neighbor to a food drive.
Our city is blessed with caring individuals, organizations and churches working hard to ensure that hungry families are not forgotten, and I encourage you to join this vital effort as part of your own Thanksgiving celebration.
I wish everyone a good Thanksgiving and a joyous holiday season.
