Hunger in the land of plenty

Ezra Klein had a nice little piece on the significance of the recent decision to cut spending on SNAP (or what used to be called food stamps). During the debate, the point was raised that the recession has brought grocery prices down a little. SNAP benefits stretch further than they used to. This kind of talk makes my blood boil! Only people with no assets and very little income benefit from this program. The amount of help given can often be less than $125/month. So what is the reality? The shelter/soup kitchen where I help out has to turn away folks seeking shelter every night. But the demand for meals changes dramatically about halfway through the month. The same folks return to the soup kitchen for the latter half of every month because their food stamps run out. The kitchen knows this will happen, and therefore puts out more tables and lays in more food to meet the increased demand. The inevitable consequence of this cut will be to strain even further the overwhelmed charities that struggle to meet basic human needs for those left behind in this land of plenty.