How Was Your Thanksgiving? Did You Get Stuffed On Stuffing?

For millions of Americas they did not, they went to bed hungry and most of them work. With more and more adults working minimum wage jobs or working for sub-living wages they have to go the food assistance program called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) but the Republicans want to cut funding to SNAP! In the University of Delaware school newspaper they said this about the cuts,

The bill originating out of House of Representatives offers a large amount of cuts.  Most of these cuts are coming out of the SNAP program, in addition to smaller cuts across most levels of funding. The cuts to SNAP total around $40 billion over the next 10 years, while total cuts are about $51 billion.
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The crux of the disagreement comes over the steep cuts to the SNAP program. Most Democrats are opposed to supposedly “draconian” cuts to SNAP funding, while there are certain Republicans who believe that $39 billion is still not enough. In fact, the House bill passed by only a slim majority because some members were not impressed by the amount of cuts and wanted more.

What are some to facts about SNAP, we hear a lot of horror stories about “welfare queens” buying booze or drugs with their SNAP debit cards, well in fact ”Trafficking rates—the number of benefits exchanged for cash—are at 1%.”

Other misconceptions are that you don’t have to work and there is no limit to the amount of time you can receive SNAP, but in reality if you are an “Able-bodied adults without dependents” (ABAWDs) you can only receive 3 months of SNAP benefits during any 3 year period, unless they are working in a qualifying job training program. You also have to be a US citizen or a documented alien.

Another misconception is that they are all black, but in fact “43% of SNAP participants are white, 33% are African-American, 19% are Hispanic, 2% are Asian, and 2% are Native American.”

Many of the people are struggling to make ends meet and are working for companies that are making billions in profits like Walmart and McDonalds…

Ohio Wal-Mart Runs Thanksgiving Food Drive For Employees
NPR
By Scot Newman
November 18, 2013

A Wal-Mart in Canton, Ohio, thought it was doing something good when it set up a Thanksgiving food drive this year for some of its needier employees.

 A series of plastic storage bins in an employee-only section of the store with a sign reading "Please donate food items so associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner" prompted The Cleveland Plains Dealer to ask: "Is the food drive proof the retailer pays so little that many employees can't afford Thanksgiving dinner?"

Meanwhile ABC News reported that McDonalds on their website said,

McDonald's is defending saving tips on its employee website that suggest workers break their food into smaller pieces to feel fuller, seek refunds for unopened holiday purchases, and other advice deemed "offensive" by an advocacy group.

The advice to its employees who struggle to make ends meet was "taken out of context," a spokesperson for the hamburger chain said.

Some screen shots of McDonald's McResource page were distributed on the Internet by LowPayisNotOk.org including tips such as, "Breaking food into pieces often results in eating less and still feeling full," and "At least two vacations a year can cut heart attack risk by 50 percent."

But McDonalds is not alone according to the website RT,

In October, Low Pay Is Not OK published a recording showing an employee calling the McResource site to ask for financial assistance. The recording made waves for showing hotline operators telling the woman to inquire about food pantries and enrolling in federal programs like food stamps and Medicaid.

A week before that recording was published, a study revealed that 52 percent of the families surviving on employment by fast food companies are registered in one or more public assistance programs. In comparison, 25 percent of the overall workforce is similarly enrolled in such programs.

And maybe this will give you something more to think about, Congressman Sean Duffy is hosting a ” Hunger and Homelessness Summit ” in Wausau, Wisconsin, on December 18th. and this was after he voted for the 40 billion dollars in cuts to SNAP. On his Congressional website he said,

Hunger & Homelessness Summit, December 18
Join the Discussion to Address Hunger and Homelessness in Your Community

Dear Community Leader,

Though not visually prevalent in our region of the state, food security and homelessness are a growing concern among the citizens of our area.  In 2011 and 2012, 13.5% of homes in the 7th Congressional District faced food hardships, including 22.7% of our children.  Additionally, over 2,000 individuals received documented care from homeless shelters, not to mention the thousands that did not receive care or live “couch-to-couch.”

Together we can help put an end to hunger and homelessness in our communities. I invite you to attend a Hunger &; Homelessness Summit to learn more about how hunger and homelessness impacts our communities and how we can work to address these issues and improve our communities.

How is that for having balls?

Please this season make a donation to a food pantry or if you go to a business that offers free admission for a donation to a food pantry give food equal to the price of admission, don’t just bring one can.