Almost half of the 48 million people in the United States on food stamp assistance are children.
On October 31, 2013 (Halloween) Senator Dick Durbin asked for and was granted permission to address the United States Senate for a few minutes regarding the cut in food stamp assistance to the poor and disabled in America and how this is effecting constituents across the country – mostly children and disabled adults.
“Mr. President, 2 days ago Kate Maehr of the Greater Chicago Food Depository came to visit me in my office. Kate is one of my favorite people. Kate runs this huge network of food distribution in the Chicagoland area. Her warehouses are huge, and they are filled with foodstuffs, much of which is donated by companies that produce food so that it can be distributed in food pantries and other sources all around the Chicagoland area. Kate is one of the best, and I look forward to her visits each year because I know the fine work she does to feed the hungry.
Two days ago she came into my office very sad.
She said: I don’t know what we are going to do.
I said: What is the matter?
She said: This Friday the increase in food stamps, or SNAP benefits, for the poor people who live in the greater Chicagoland area is going to be cut. It may be only $10 or $15, but I know these people, I know many of them personally, and they live so close to the edge. It will call for some sacrifice on their part, and many of them will be hard-pressed to make that sacrifice, and I can’t make up the difference. With all of the donations and all of the charitable contributions, I just can’t make up the difference.
I thought about it for a minute. I thought, how would you approach a Member of the Senate or the House of Representatives and say: You know, this cutback of $15 a month will really hurt. It is hard for us, in our positions in life, to really understand or identify with the plight and the struggle of those who are not certain where their next meal is coming from.
Most of those people have the benefit of the SNAP program, the food stamp program. Well, who are these people? Who are these 48 million Americans who receive benefits from this program? Almost 1 million of them are veterans. Veterans who are not sure where their next meal is coming from get food stamps–SNAP benefits. Almost half of the 48 million are children. There are 22 million children and another 9 million who are elderly and disabled. When we talk about cuts in the SNAP program, we are talking about these people–the veterans, children, the elderly, and the disabled”, said Senator Dick Durbin (Source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
See video: Half of U.S. children will get food stamps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh8pk3ypJ7M
See video: Homeless kids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9kOfiBmFsM
See video: Woman denied food stamps kills self and shoots children in Texas welfare office http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUm-M1LEx1E