Beard: Child hunger should not become the norm

Letter to the editor
January is often a time for new beginnings, resolutions, and aspirations. For many families, it means another month of tough decisions when it comes to affording nutritious food. Reality check: families often experience food insecurity year-round.
A statewide poll from No Kid Hungry Florida shows this challenge is not only felt by families hovering near the poverty line. Middle-income households have reported buying less healthy foods to stretch their grocery budgets, while lower-income families are making difficult decisions between paying the rent and purchasing groceries.
No one should have to choose between two necessities. Unfortunately, this is becoming a regular predicament for many families across the state, including those in Gainesville. A parent in Gilchrist County shared: “I have to let a bill get behind just so I can feed my children.”
Nearly eighty percent of households earning between 50k and 99k said food costs are rising faster than their income. That often results in parents having to completely forgo protein and fresh produce to afford their grocery bill. With the rising cost of everyday essentials, utility bills, and housing, families are struggling – and that means their kids are, too.
A local resident told us: “I know people who rely on school meals to feed their kids, all year long.”
Child hunger should not become our norm. Yet, each year, we are seeing this number grow. In Alachua, Gilchrist, Dixie, and Levy County, more than 12,000 children are experiencing hunger. Statewide, it’s one in five kids.
Ending child hunger requires a multifaceted approach, but there is one solution that can make a significant difference in Florida’s ability to tackle food insecurity: Summer EBT, or SUN Bucks. This program helps eligible families stretch their budget in the summertime when their kids are not in school by providing $120 per child in grocery benefits.
Florida remains one of just 12 states that are not participating – leaving roughly $259 million in federal dollars on the table that would help keep 2.1 million kids from facing summer hunger. This year, we have an opportunity to change that.
By saying “yes” to SUN Bucks, Florida would help nourish millions of children, while funneling as much as $466 million back into local economies and rural communities across our state.
When children receive the healthy meals they need each day, they have the nutrients to grow and develop. They can focus in class, which often results in higher performance.
Prioritizing our children’s nutrition positively impacts our state’s future. Our future workforce, economy, and community depend on this foundation.
It is time for change.
Florida must choose to participate in SUN Bucks and help end the hungriest time of year – summer.
Sky Beard, Florida director of No Kid Hungry
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
Will SUNBUCKS be limited to certain products similar to the WIC program? I hope this will be true. Having been a teacher with 2 teachers in my immediate family, I hear how some students waste foods in the “Backpacks for Kids” which are sent home & others dump school lunches into the trash. It is sad for children to go hungry, but also wasteful to see uneaten food in the trash.
Maybe if their parents would get off the drugs, get off welfare, and get a friggin job they could feed their OWN children instead of the rest of us responsible adults having to feed their children too?
This has to be the most ignorant thing you’ve said to date and Lord knows you’ve spewed some BS
That’s right Lou…it’s called personal responsibility…rubbers are cheap. Don’t breed em if you can’t educate and feed em.
How about learning how to cook? How many of these parents probably can’t make a bowl of pasta? Or even fry an egg. Waste money on fast food. Problem is the so called parents. I hope the writer of the article is a volunteer and just someone trying to justify his position.
With certain exceptions, Home Ec is no longer taught in schools and it seems there are generational gaps in learning to cook at home. It happens to many. My Dad couldn’t boil water and was lost after my Mother died.
How vile of a person do you have to be to say something like this? I pray that one day you will realize the value of caring for others because this is truly sickening. Please stop trying to clump every situation into the one category of “being lazy” or “get off the drugs” is plain ignorant. I would like to understand why you believe that we have no obligation to help our community. I truly do want to understand, as I cannot figure out why people deliberately choose to disregard families struggling to keep their kids fed when there are ways to support them.
Unless you’re the Superintendent of Alachua County Schools.
Their salary is outpacing inflation by leaps and bounds. Teachers on the other hand – that’s an entirely different story.
Middle class hunger is a result of Bidenomics on top of Covid malaise era collateral damage. Employers haven’t given workers a 25% raise to make up for that inflation. Teachers rightly rejected the 1.5% increase the school board contract offered.
Globalism drives down job quality and wages. Until we live with America First the next several years, it’ll take time to recover from globalism.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
LOL traitor says what? Love the taste of boots, bet you lose your SSI and Medicare and you will deserve it. Your kids will put you in a bad nursing home and you’ll die alone, like you deserve.
That’s factually wrong.
“Since February 2020, the Consumer Price Index has climbed a cumulative 20.8%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Over that same period, average hourly earnings rose 22.3%.
The Summary
Inflation has risen quickly over the past few years — but wages have been rising slightly faster.
Lower-income workers have seen even bigger boosts to their purchasing power thanks to earnings that have outpaced the average.
Even though their pay has broadly kept pace, most Americans still have mixed feelings about the state of the economy…”
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/inflation-higher-biden-rising-pay-makes-rcna158569
BS. Ask any county or city hourly employee if their wages have risen over 20%.
“When children receive the healthy meals they need each day, they have the nutrients to grow and develop. They can focus in class, which often results in higher performance.”
Sky, that is what Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel, and we see how that turned out.
The time is now for organizations like yours to stress to the people you cater to the importance of seeking first the kingdom rather than hoping for government dainties so that food, housing, clothes, good health, wisdom, and all the essential attributes of life will be added unto them. (SUN Bucks can’t do that)
You may be doing this already, but you didn’t mention it anywhere in your article, which would amount to a grave oversight on your part.
Obviously the Republican Legislature WANTS lots of hungry children, because they have the power to control it and choose not to.
Amend the law for things like WIC and food stamps by adding one simple condition for “single mothers” to agree to in order to get the welfare.
If they cannot feed their existing kids, in order to get welfare they agree to mandatory contraception. Having another kid while on welfare is a felony, minimum mandatory five years jail.
Conservative opposition to contraception and abortion prevent them from passing this simple law. So welfare moms get rewarded by unlimited breeding, thanks to the Republicans.
Sky,
People do have legitimate needs and reasons that they need material help. This doesn’t mean that the government is the best vehicle to address these needs. Also tax payers have reason to be skeptical or unwilling to pay for more social welfare programs. I don’t even need to explain this.
Please convince the readers of the need for another social program. Please explain why the legislature has said no. Please explain why you believe that this assistance won’t enable bad behavior, fraud, and abuse of a tax-payer funded program.
Why aren’t existing programs enough?