food stamps – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

In his message for World Food Day, which was observed on October 16, Pope Francis said that “it is a scandal that there is still hunger and malnutrition in the world.”

The Holy Father emphasized, “It is not just a question of responding to immediate emergencies, but of addressing together, in all areas, a problem that challenges our personal and social conscience, to achieve a just and lasting solution.”

Cuts in food assistance benefits

In the United States, there are increasing numbers of hungry people. Many of them rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. As of November 1, the benefits to individuals and families were cut for the first time since 1964. That’s because an increase in food aid approved in 2009 expired, and Congress hasn’t been able to pass a new farm bill for over a year (the farm bill includes provisions to fund food assistance programs in our country).

Urge legislators to maintain funding for food stamps

To the editor:

Legislators in our nation’s capital drafting the next version of the Farm Bill need to get their priorities straight. The largest portion of the Farm Bill deals with SNAP, commonly known as food stamps.

Drafts of the proposed Farm Bill include serious cuts to the SNAP program, at a time when people need it the most. Hunger has been on the rise, despite the best efforts of food pantries, soup kitchens, and community volunteers.

Making a Difference

On May 3, 2012

Tony Magliano

Protecting our daily bread

Every person who has enough nutritious food to eat and cares about the one billion people who do not, should be paying attention to the 2012 Farm Bill.

At stake are deep, heartless congressional monetary cuts to national and international food assistance programs, environmentally protective farm and ranch conservation projects, and safety net programs designed to help struggling small and mid-sized family farmers and rural communities.

Proposed cuts to Farm Bill

Bob Gronski, policy coordinator, for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (www.ncrlc.com) explained to me that Congress is poised to cut between $23 billion and $34 billion from current funding levels of the Farm Bill.

Editorial

On April 26, 2012February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Remember the poor: Catholic bishops call for ‘circle of protection’

An elderly woman lives on a very tight fixed income. She depends on food stamps to provide enough food so that she can pay for her rent and medical expenses.

A married man with four children loses his job. His unemployment compensation has run out and he relies on receiving government help for rental assistance and buying food for his family.

These are real situations facing real people. In fact, recent statistics show that one in two Americans are living at or near the poverty level. That means up to 50 million Americans are poor, the highest number since the Census Bureau began tracking poverty rates in 1959.

But despite the growing numbers of poor people — many of them formerly considered “middle class” — we aren’t hearing much about poverty in the current political campaign. It seems to be an issue that everyone is avoiding like the plague.

Everyone except the U.S. Catholic bishops, that is.

Letters to the editor

On February 8, 2012

John Murphy

We should not demean people using food stamps

To the editor:

Recently a Catholic politician, Newt Gingrich, speaking to his supporters called President Obama, the “food stamp President.” This was meant to demean African-Americans as well as the working and non-working poor who need the basics of life.

It just so happens that many more white people are using food stamps to survive than African-Americans or Latinos. Mr. Gingrich needs to be told that we as Catholics do not speak of God’s people in such terms.