Inflation, spending cuts undermine Biden’s hunger policy

Grace Melt made her first visit to the Nourishing Hope food pantry on Chicago’s North Side in August. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, she used food stamps issued by the federal government to buy groceries while out of work for a knee injury.

But this summer, the food stamps couldn’t keep up with the grocery store’s rising prices, sending her in search of a food donation for the first time.

“It’s definitely not enough. It never lasts ‘til the end of the month,” she said of the food stamp benefits. “And now they’ve increased prices... So now you have to resort to coming here to a food pantry, to fill in.”

Rising hunger is a problem for US President Joe Biden as he gears up to host the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in more than 50 years and pledges to eliminate hunger in the United States by 2030, reports Reuters.

Voters may punish his Democratic Party for inflation in November’s mid-term elections in a year the economy has been top of mind for voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The Biden administration increased funding for food stamps nearly a year ago, but at the same time has purchased about half as much food as the Trump administration did in 2020, for food banks, schools and indigenous reservations, according to data obtained from a US Agriculture Department (USDA) source.

Escalating food prices are eroding the reach of food stamps, which average around $231 per person per month in 2022, according to USDA data, sending more people to food banks, that are in turn receiving less food from the government. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food at home climbed to 13.5 per cent year-over-year in August, the largest 12-month increase since 1979, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Food prices have been near record highs globally since Russia’s invasion of major grains producer Ukraine.

Hunger rates this summer also rose to levels not seen since early in the pandemic when lockdowns threw supply chains into chaos.

“This is a problem that started to get better in 2021 and then rapidly got worse,” said Vince Hall, Chief Government Relations Officer for Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks. “Most of America’s food banks are seeing the lines grow with each passing week.”

Some advocates argued for spending more on food stamps or cash distribution, which give people more choice than food handouts and also benefit local businesses.