In
the 1960s and 1970s, hunger was nearly wiped out in America, thanks to a bipartisan
plan by the federal government to create and expand nutrition programs for children
and the elderly. But over the last few years, the government's support of these
programs has decreased, and the number of Americans who go hungry has skyrocketed.
Many
hunger organizations work to directly get food to those who are hungry through
food banks, soup kitchens, and services like Meals On Wheels, but organizations
also work hard to try to convince government officials to once again strengthen
support for the successful programs that can help eliminate hunger.
The
programs that organizations want the government to strengthen include: Food
Stamps, which help more than 25 million people with low incomes get the food
for their families they need to survive; The School Breakfast and School Lunch
programs which provide free and reduced-price meals to over 22 million school
children; and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children, better known as WIC, which provides nutritious food, nutrition
counseling, and health care referrals to 8 million low-income women, infants and
children.
