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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Monday, April 09, 2007

Gas prices and

the working poor

By MARY FITZPATRICK

La Crosse

Hunger is a growing problem for families in our community and our nation.

More than 35 million Americans are hungry or living right at the edge, a fact that we know too well, as nearly 45 percent of the assistance provided by Catholic Charities agencies across the country deal with food and nutrition.

Here in our area, the need is great. As gas prices rise, people are using rent, utility and food money to keep gas in their cars and turning to local agencies and Catholic Charities to meet these needs.

The face of the hungry may surprise many people. Hunger does not discriminate. Nationally, four out of five

food stamp recipients are

children who need adequate nutrition to learn and grow. There are estimates of between 6 percent and 16 percent of

elderly Americans going without sufficient food and nutrition.

Today, more working poor are going hungry, as 29 percent of food stamp recipients are in families in which at least one person works but whose earnings simply aren’t enough to cover rent and utilities and still buy food.

We need Congress to improve the Food Stamp Program in the upcoming farm bill to make the application process easier, increase benefit amounts, improve outreach, expand eligibility, and eliminate asset limits.

In a country with an abundance of food, it is a national crisis that so many children, seniors, and low-income

working adults must go without the most basic needs. We should all work to make our community a “hunger-free” place to live.