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Toward an End to Hunger in America
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Cheap, plentiful food is an American tradition. We spend a smaller percentage of our income on food than any other nation. We feed much of the world with our surpluses. Consumers, retailers, and restaurants throw away one-quarter of our food stock every year. And yet data collected by the federal government show that almost 12 percent of American households either suffer from hunger or worry about going hungry. Why are so many Americans afflicted with ""food insecurity"" during such prosperous times? According to this book, it's not simply an artifact of even most of the poorest homes have access to adequate food. Nor is it indifference to their plight or a lack of ways to Americans strongly support government food assistance, and there are a host of public and private programs devoted to feeding the hungry. Peter Eisinger seeks to unravel the puzzle of America's hunger and asserts that it is a problem that can be solved. He believes that the perception of hunger and responses to it emerge from a complex, intellectual, political, and social context. He begins by looking for a meaningful definition of hunger, then examines the structure and funding of government food assistance programs, the roles of Congress and community interest groups, and the contributions of volunteer organizations. He concludes by offering ideas to reduce the nation's perplexing hunger problem, based on creating stronger partnerships between public and private food programs.
"
Cheap, plentiful food is an American tradition. We spend a smaller percentage of our income on food than any other nation. We feed much of the world with our surpluses. Consumers, retailers, and restaurants throw away one-quarter of our food stock every year. And yet data collected by the federal government show that almost 12 percent of American households either suffer from hunger or worry about going hungry. Why are so many Americans afflicted with ""food insecurity"" during such prosperous times? According to this book, it's not simply an artifact of even most of the poorest homes have access to adequate food. Nor is it indifference to their plight or a lack of ways to Americans strongly support government food assistance, and there are a host of public and private programs devoted to feeding the hungry. Peter Eisinger seeks to unravel the puzzle of America's hunger and asserts that it is a problem that can be solved. He believes that the perception of hunger and responses to it emerge from a complex, intellectual, political, and social context. He begins by looking for a meaningful definition of hunger, then examines the structure and funding of government food assistance programs, the roles of Congress and community interest groups, and the contributions of volunteer organizations. He concludes by offering ideas to reduce the nation's perplexing hunger problem, based on creating stronger partnerships between public and private food programs.
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191 pages, Paperback
First published October 14, 1998
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March 16, 2010
I think if I read this in '98 right after it had been written, then the policy points would have obviously been more salient. Also, if I had read it before I moved to D.C. some of the general information would have been a little more "eye-opening". I don't say this to discourage folks from reading it. I appreciate his attention to detail in examining the history of hunger as a congressional, and American issue, and would really like to see a revised addition to include comments on the most recent CNR. All together I think this is a good read for people who want to know more about hunger.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review