USA - Hunger & Starvation??

[Dad 4 Boys]

We're having a discussion regarding hunger in the USA. Do people people regularly starve to death in the United States?

[Mergath]

Regularly? No. Ever? Yes. And while people may not actually starve to death on a regular basis, being unable to afford quality food, or enough food in general, has certainly contributed to illness that leads to death.

[Dad 4 Boys]

Regularly? No. Ever? Yes. And while people may not actually starve to death on a regular basis, being unable to afford quality food, or enough food in general, has certainly contributed to illness that leads to death.

 

 

I ask this from ignorance, because I've been blessed to never have personally experienced homelessness, hunger, despair, etc. If people in the US are going hungry, are they doing so because they've exhausted all options and resources available to them short of begging in the streets?

[BigMamaBird]

I don't know. My Great-grandma was in a despicable nursing home and some of those patients resembled death camp prisoners. There were a myriad of other heath issues there, but I imagine some of those people were starving.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Most people on the streets do not die from starvation. At least directly. They are however often malnourished as part of addiction to drugs and alcohol which strips the body of nutrients and does not exactly lead to good nutritional choices. Most of the people who are actually starved to death are victims of abuse - children or elderly who are not mobile or able to feed themselves who are starved by "caregivers" who neglect them.

[Dad 4 Boys]

I don't know. My Great-grandma was in a despicable nursing home and some of those patients resembled death camp prisoners. There were a myriad of other heath issues there, but I imagine some of those people were starving.

So did your great-grandma and the others not have anyone to look out for them? Again, I'm blessed to have a wonderful family that I think would do everything they could to make sure my family didn't go without shelter or food if we were to become destitute. That includes my family as well as my wife's.

[Mergath]

 

I ask this from ignorance, because I've been blessed to never have personally experienced homelessness, hunger, despair, etc. If people in the US are going hungry, are they doing so because they've exhausted all options and resources available to them short of begging in the streets?

 

Well, yes. They aren't doing it because it's so much fun. I've been there when dh was unemployed, and it's not exactly something you'd choose. There were months when we had no money at all, but didn't get any assistance because the month before we had some money. They don't factor in that income can fluctuate when they're calculating your assistance. Friends and family couldn't give us money or food because most of them are skirting the poverty line too. Half of what the food shelf gave out was actually rotten and not safe to eat. I'm not picky, but I draw the line at eating canned goods from the nineties.

 

Thankfully, we're far from that situation now, but hungry Americans aren't some kind of mythical creature people tell their children about to scare them into eating their lima beans.

[BigMamaBird]

She had dementia and was past the speaking point when she was moved down here to be close to her step-daughter, my Grandma. Grandma lived three or four blocks for the nursing home and was down there at least once a day for hours advocating, fighting, screaming for my G. Grandma. She would find her languishing in bed in the same position she'd left her in the night before and G.G. developed awful bedsores. So Grandma spend BIG bucks and bought her a very special padded wheelchair and wrote G.G.'s name on it. Grandma would go down there and every single day find someone in it not G.G. She felt bad getting the patient kicked out, but was spending her own money to get G.G. even bare bones comfort that she had to fight for her. It was as if the nursing home staff was actively seeking to harm G.G. Every. Single. Day. my Grandma had to almost physically force the staff to do their job.

 

I can't imagine the poor soul in there who didn't have someone clawing to get them basic human care.

[Dad 4 Boys]

Well, yes. They aren't doing it because it's so much fun. I've been there when dh was unemployed, and it's not exactly something you'd choose. There were months when we had no money at all, but didn't get any assistance because the month before we had some money. They don't factor in that income can fluctuate when they're calculating your assistance. Friends and family couldn't give us money or food because most of them are skirting the poverty line too. Half of what the food shelf gave out was actually rotten and not safe to eat. I'm not picky, but I draw the line at eating canned goods from the nineties.

 

Thankfully, we're far from that situation now, but hungry Americans aren't some kind of mythical creature people tell their children about to scare them into eating their lima beans.

I'm sorry you've gone through that, and I never assumed it was fun for anyone. Like I said before, I've been blessed to never experience anything close to that. As such, I'm asking sincere questions.

 

I've always assumed that there was always somewhere like a food bank, church, etc. where families could get basic foodstuffs.

[Dad 4 Boys]

She had dementia and was past the speaking point when she was moved down here to be close to her step-daughter, my Grandma. Grandma lived three or four blocks for the nursing home and was down there at least once a day for hours advocating, fighting, screaming for my G. Grandma. She would find her languishing in bed in the same position she'd left her in the night before and G.G. developed awful bedsores. So Grandma spend BIG bucks and bought her a very special padded wheelchair and wrote G.G.'s name on it. Grandma would go down there and every single day find someone in it not G.G. She felt bad getting the patient kicked out, but was spending her own money to get G.G. even bare bones comfort that she had to fight for her. It was as if the nursing home staff was actively seeking to harm G.G. Every. Single. Day. my Grandma had to almost physically force the staff to do their job.

 

I can't imagine the poor soul in there who didn't have someone clawing to get them basic human care.

 

That's a very sad and scary story.

[redsquirrel]

Do people starve do death? Like because they can't afford food? I am sure it does happen on occasion. I mean, it's a big country and there are a lot of people here. It is difficult to speak in absolutes.

 

Now, is there hunger here? yes. We have food banks that offer free food and they get used a lot. If you are interested in hunger it is more common for people to experience "food insecurity" meaning that they don't always know where there next meal is coming from. They don't have money to buy enough food to get themselves or their kids through the week.

 

Here is a video featuring my city's mayor talking about growing up experiencing hunger and food insecurity.

 

http://youtu.be/vVM-1X9OBQo

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I've always assumed that there was always somewhere like a food bank, church, etc. where families could get basic foodstuffs.

 

 

This is a common assumption. One I used to assume as well. However, many of these locations require you to jump through so many hoops to get any sort of help. Sure, they are allowed to make you jump through hoops, and when your children (or yourself) are hungry you will jump. But it's hard and if you don't meet their specifications they'll turn you away. Some food pantries make it very hard.

 

There have been months where we weren't able to buy food, but didn't meet the need requirements of the food pantries. Thankfully we've had some friends help out. And we have helped them in return. Funny how our poorest friends were the first to offer help. But I am thankful we had the chance to help them in return when they needed it.

 

I'd like to also point out that often you don't choose the food at a pantry, you are handed a box or bag of food. You get what you get, which I am fine with except one time all we got was candy and junk food. We ate it because we had it, but we really need real food.

[Mergath]

I'm sorry you've gone through that, and I never assumed it was fun for anyone. Like I said before, I've been blessed to never experience anything close to that. As such, I'm asking sincere questions.

 

I've always assumed that there was always somewhere like a food bank, church, etc. where families could get basic foodstuffs.

 

The United States is a big place with a lot of really, really broke people in it. In many places, the food banks have exhausted their resources, the churches just don't have any because people can't afford to give much when they're trying to feed their kids and keep a roof over their heads, and in a lot of states the amount you get for food stamps amounts to pocket change, especially if you have just enough income to pay your mortgage or rent but nothing left over for food. People are put in an impossible situation: do they pay the rent and have a home, or do they buy food and not starve?

 

ETA: Here's an article from September about food banks not having enough food to go around: http://usatoday30.us...tage/57698834/1

 

If you google "food banks running out of food" you'll find a lot of info. It's interesting to note that a food shelf mentioned in the article says they give out about three days worth of food. Most only let you go once a month, which means a poor family still has to figure out where dinner is going to come from the other twenty-seven days of the year.

[Audrey]

Most people on the streets do not die from starvation. At least directly. They are however often malnourished as part of addiction to drugs and alcohol which strips the body of nutrients and does not exactly lead to good nutritional choices. Most of the people who are actually starved to death are victims of abuse - children or elderly who are not mobile or able to feed themselves who are starved by "caregivers" who neglect them.

 

I was going to 'like' this post, but it seemed so inappropriate, given the subject. Instead, I will just agree with you, Jean. These situations are very sad, and so unnecessary.

[SKL]

I agree with the others. There are people who starve to death, but usually it is the result of criminal abuse/neglect, or someone who is in such a bad situation that they are physically/mentally unable to reach out for help, and nobody is taking care of them. For everyone else, there are ways to get food without buying it, and none of those ways are pleasant. We have enough food to feed everyone, and also enough people willing to help, but logistically we tend to make it hard despite good intentions. ... As for the elder care situations, that is so sad and yet so true. I worked in one of the nicer geriatric facilities for a couple of weeks. There is way too much work for the number of people who work there. The patients who get cared for appropriately are the ones who are lucid enough to advocate for themselves, and those who have loved ones who come and spend time pretty much every day. I basically got fired for trying to do all of the work in the aide manual, with the result that I didn't get certain things done by a target time of day (despite never taking breaks/lunch). Meanwhile my colleagues who kept their jobs were fastidious about taking their breaks, during which times they would smoke joints etc. Some reform in this area would make me very happy.

[ktgrok]

A better statement would be that people die from malnutrition. They may not actually starve to death, but they don't get enough to eat, which weakens their immune system to the point where they die from pnumonia or the flu..something they would normally have been able to fight off, but can't because they don't get enough to eat.

[OrganicAnn]

There is a local food charity that I know was started because a local boy starved to death. I don't know the whole story. I think it happened in the 80s.

[Laura Corin]

In the UK elderly people sometimes starve. They stop feeling very hungry, lose the habit of eating, worry about money (even though a basic income is guaranteed), are too proud to ask for help/don't know where to go for help, start to be confused through malnutrition.... the cycle continues. I don't know how common it is, but it does happen.

 

Laura

[lynn]

There are a couple churches in town that bring weekend food bags to students in very poor schools.

 

My sisters church, members sign up to prepare and/or purchase items for lunch bags which they bring into the poorest of neighborhoods in the summer.

 

People try to help those they can.

[Plink]

I live in a fairly well-off area, and the kids in my art class made thank-you cards for the staff of local food distribution center. I made the mistake of going there at 11:30 to drop it off. The line wrapped AROUND THE BUILDING! I knew it served a "certain population" but didn't expect what I saw. I was blown away by the sadness on those faces.

 

Hunger is an invisible tragedy in our country.

 

Go volunteer and find out for yourself.

 

ETA: I just realized that my last sentence sounds rather sassy and insulting. I didn't mean for that to be the tone of my suggestion. Volunteering in my local area has completely changed me. It was surprising to see how much need there is, and to discover that it wasn't only drug abusers, the mentally challenged, and lazy people who need help. (No flames, I know now just how judgemental that perception was.)

[Chris in VA]

Saw a good news bit about colleges that now have food pantries for their students. That's one population that I always associated with maybe "cheaper food" options--ramen noodles as a stereotypical college food--but I never really thought of them as not being able to afford food at all. It happens.

 

We have family members on food stamps. Single adult gets $25 a week in his part of the country, IIRC. At least he knows how to stretch it. It didn't kick in for 3 weeks, tho. He had to depend on handouts, and he said it made him feel "less than a man." It does something to the heart, I think, to not be able to provide the basics.

[Joanne]

In my personal experience and observation, it is more likely that the systems that help the struggling persons tend to, in many ways, fuel the cycle of poverty and poverty dynamic.

 

Food pantries are usually full of copious amounts of "filling" but less nutritious food; the kind of food that makes you fat but hungry.

 

Saturday night, when I was in Walgreens getting an Rx for my son (see my thread), I was in line behind a woman who had clearly just gotten off from work (as a server, she was wearing the classic black pants/white shirt). She was buying a few Easter basket/candy items. I assume she was doing so for at least one, possibly 2, kids. She used her Lone Star (food stamp) card to pay for parts it would cover.

 

The cycle of poverty is a BITCH. There she was, a working mom, just trying to have a normal Easter morning for her kids. I hope that she has some kind of quality, free childcare (rare for those hours) so that she doesn't have to pay her meager wages for off hours care.

[stripe]

I ask this from ignorance, because I've been blessed to never have personally experienced homelessness, hunger, despair, etc. If people in the US are going hungry, are they doing so because they've exhausted all options and resources available to them short of begging in the streets?

Filling out forms to locate aid is generally a very time consuming and frustrating endeavor that also involves having no pride whatsoever. So some people who are eligible never obtain the help they could get.

[TravelingChris]

When I was a college student, I once had to spend a number of hours in the ER on a Friday night due to a fracture I sustained. We didn't have separate rooms there, just curtains between beds. Anyway, on the one side of me was an elderly lady who was brought in by ambulance. Apparently she didn't know when she had last eaten and it appeared from the sound of things, that her heart rhythm was erratic due to lack of eating. It wasn't a matter of money, I don't think. It was a matter of either dementia or depression.

 

ARe there people who are hungry? Yes. Starve, unlikely without other contributing issues like others said.

 

OTOh, I see my adult son, who is eligible for food stamps, albeit a small amount, who hasn't applied yet because he is moving very soon and doesn't want to have the hassle, and he manages to eat well enough with his meager income. He does know how to cook and doesn't mind doing so. He does get a bit of help from us- usually about one meal a week. I also gave him a food gift card for Christmas as one of his presents and saw that he was still using it this week.

[Lady Florida.]

Most people on the streets do not die from starvation. At least directly. They are however often malnourished as part of addiction to drugs and alcohol which strips the body of nutrients and does not exactly lead to good nutritional choices. Most of the people who are actually starved to death are victims of abuse - children or elderly who are not mobile or able to feed themselves who are starved by "caregivers" who neglect them.

 

Then there's the mentally ill. Many of the homeless are mentally ill, some diagnosed, some not. Unless these people are a danger to themselves or others, you can't force them into treatment. Apparently homelessness doesn't count as being a danger to yourself. :tongue_smilie: There is a member of extended family on dh's side in this condition. She's currently getting care, but we know if she decides she no longer wants or needs care, there's nothing we can do.

 

. If you are interested in hunger it is more common for people to experience "food insecurity" meaning that they don't always know where there next meal is coming from. They don't have money to buy enough food to get themselves or their kids through the week.

 

 

This is what I experienced as a child. My mother tried to hide if from my brother and me, but I was the oldest and eventually I figured out what was going on. There weren't food banks where I lived and grew up in the 1960's. Sometimes family members helped, sometimes friends helped. Most of the time though it wasn't a matter of not having enough food, but not knowing if we'd have enough food.

[Dana]

Front page of our newspaper today. Due to some dispute with city council, a local church that feeds about 150 people each night in conjunction with the Salvation Army is stopping their program. Sounds like the church did offer to extend the program for another year, but council said no so program is stopping.

 

If people are homeless or staying in motels or other short-term situations, there can also be a lot of difficulty in actually cooking.

[Dad 4 Boys]

Front page of our newspaper today. Due to some dispute with city council, a local church that feeds about 150 people each night in conjunction with the Salvation Army is stopping their program. Sounds like the church did offer to extend the program for another year, but council said no so program is stopping.

 

If people are homeless or staying in motels or other short-term situations, there can also be a lot of difficulty in actually cooking.

 

What was the issue that caused the dispute?

[prairiewindmomma]

Our city has such a hunger problem that in addition to the food bank (multiple agencies contribute to it) a daily hot meal is provided to whoever walks in and wants one.... The number of people eating the daily hot meal has tripled in the last few years....

[Ameena]

And then there are those of us who prefer not to go to food banks for a variety of reasons, even though we might need the help. I've found that the process is often demeaning or downright insulting to those asking for help. Plus if you have allergies or special diets forget it. Thank goodness that my state now allows you to apply for food stamps online and not have to go in to an office.

 

This is a post I wrote recently on another board when talking about hunger & food banks. I'm copying it here as it really explains what it is like to seek help sometimes. This is a more extreme example, but it did actually happen to me a few months back.

 

've been on both sides - helping, and the one being helped. I can say that the process is often impersonal and sometimes downright rude to those being helped. Here's an example of what not to do: 2 months ago, while waiting for my food stamps to be approved, I went to the local food bank I was referred to by 211. After waiting for nearly 3 hours in a lobby full of people who did look homeless or like addicts just there for a meal ticket {this church also gives out lunches daily}, I was called to the front where they proceeded to go over every bit of the application out loud {even my SS#} with no attempt to give privacy or talk in a lower tone to prevent others hearing. Upon seeing that I was a single parent, it was suggested that i should have placed my daughter up for adoption at birth, because "single parents are unfit parents". All this while my 6 year old daughter was next to me. Then we had to wait another 2 hours for a food box. No questions were asked, not even allergies. In total, including time to get there and back on the city bus, it took all day. And what was in the food box? A package of Oreos {crushed}, a jar of Peanut Butter {we're allergic}, a large package of oatmeal {we're allergic}, koolaid packets, a can of Spam {We don't eat pork products for religious reasons}, a loaf of very moldy bread, and 4 cans of soup. This was supposed to be 2 weeks worth according to the food bank. I could have bought the edible items with the funds I spent on bus fare and saved myself the time.

 

Some of our local pantries make you sit through a sermon or have a personal discussion about your religious beliefs before you can get any assistance. Being someone who is not of the Christian faith, knowing that you'll have to sit through a sermon or defend your personal religious beliefs is a real deterrent to getting help when you need it. Jesus helped everyone, regardless of faith, without trying to convert them. I wish today's Christians would do the same.

 

If you're in an area served well by other food banks, a very much needed resource is a toiletries bank - things like paper plates, toilet paper, baby supplies, diapers, etc that can't be purchased with food stamps. It's something a lot of churches never think about.

[SKL]

And then there are those of us who prefer not to go to food banks for a variety of reasons, even though we might need the help. I've found that the process is often demeaning or downright insulting to those asking for help. Plus if you have allergies or special diets forget it. Thank goodness that my state now allows you to apply for food stamps online and not have to go in to an office.

 

This is a post I wrote recently on another board when talking about hunger & food banks. I'm copying it here as it really explains what it is like to seek help sometimes. This is a more extreme example, but it did actually happen to me a few months back.

And this is also sad for those of us who really want to help (and do help as we can). But it's good to know about these things as it can help us decide what, how, and where to donate. Unfortunately that only addresses part of the problem. ... The government for whatever reason makes it hard for people to just give directly to others in need. About a year ago I heard of a woman who was making sandwiches to hand out free to kids in a low-income neighborhood all summer. The local government shut her down because she didn't go buy a permit, which was something in the $thousands IIRC. There are restrictions against donating edible food that has been handled in certain ways etc. (e.g., restaurant leftovers). And some restriction against supermarkets donating stuff at the moment it expires (which we all know is still edible). I am sure there is more that I'm not aware of. Without all this nonsense there would be fewer hungry people and fewer who are treated like dirt.

[mommymilkies]

I woud recommend you go out into your community and see for yourself instead of asking on here. Yes, people starve. Usually the elderly, though hunger is a fact of life for many people even in America. Starvation is more rare, and usually attributed to malnutrtion, senility, or parents with mental illness who starve their children (not due, necessarily, to poverty).

 

http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america.aspx

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9591814/Patients-starve-and-die-of-thirst-on-hospital-wards.html (UK)

 

World hunger statistics and causes: http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

http://factcheckinginjusticefacts.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/asmaa-al-hameli/

 

The statistics and studies are unclear as to the divide between death by starvation and death by hunger-related causes (malnutrition, depressed immune systems, etc.). Either way it is abhorrent, but it is difficult to find hard numbers. For example, thousands of infants in the world die because of formula feeding each year. This is usually in areas with unsafe water supplies and companies like Nestle that push formula on these parents, leading to an unsafe situation. Technically, the cause of death is usually diarrhea.

http://www1.paho.org/english/ad/fch/BOB2.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/SAFEWATER/publications_pages/2001/dunne_2001.pdf

http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_velasquez_busethics_6/38/9873/2527720.cw/index.html

 

Note, I am not trying to start a bf/ff debate. My ds had to go on formula for medical reasons and I am very glad it was available. However, I am pointing out the problem of determining whether the death is by "starvation" vs other hunger related causes.

[SwallowTail]

There are many children in my own city who we know get nothing to eat outside of what they are provided atthe school. A program for filling backpacks with food for them to take home on weekends is trying to help with that, but real hunger is an unfortunate reality for many children, for varied reasons. My relatively small and affluent city is certainly not unusual.

 

Also, many families up in less populated rural areas in the mountains are hungry daily.

[itsheresomewhere]

Keep in mind that some food banks have a once a month visit rule. You can only go once a month and you come out with about a week's worth of food.

[msjones]

In my experience, there are not many people starving to death due to actual lack of food. There are many people trapped in a cycle of poverty who have trouble keeping groceries in the house.

 

When I taught ps in a very low-income neighborhood in Los Angeles I had many students whose families depended on school lunch and breakfast programs. Even their preschoolers could get two meals daily, year-round. But I never heard of any child starving to death due to lack of access to food.

 

Around here, food banks ask only your name. Lines can be long, but I haven't heard of donation shortages recently.

 

I feed many homeless folks on the weekends at my church. I hear from some of them that they can eat free at least twice a day every day by visiting churches around the city.