Why does hunger threaten 40 million Americans in the world’s largest economy? | economy

Washington- “The amount of $314 was not added to my card on the first of November like the first of every month over the past few years, and of course this will affect feeding my family, which consists of my wife and two children.”

With these words, an American citizen living in New York City spoke to Al Jazeera Net about what it would mean to stop funding the federal government program concerned with providing supplemental food aid, known as SNAP, to approximately 42 million citizens due to the continued government shutdown, which has entered its second month following sharp disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over passing the draft federal budget.

Snap program

Under the SNAP program, the government adds a monthly financial value to cards designated to purchase food and beverage essentials for low-income citizens, people with special needs, and the poor among veterans and the elderly. The subsidy value is charged monthly to the card, which works like a debit card and can be used in most grocery stores.

While state agencies administer the program, eligibility for assistance is based on federal income limits, and requirements vary by state.

This citizen – who preferred to remain anonymous – has been working as a taxi driver on the Uber app for years after losing an office job in the insurance field.

He told Al Jazeera Net, “This amount, although it seemed limited, covered all of our monthly consumption of bread, dairy, eggs, juices and fruits, and now the priority list has increased with an additional burden of providing these basic materials in light of a significant rise in prices, for political reasons that I have nothing to do with between Trump and the leadership of the Democratic Party.”

Many civil associations, religious organizations, mosques, churches, temples, and food banks in various American cities took the initiative to announce the provision of meals to the hungry and needy who stopped receiving federal food aid.

The citizen added, “I imagine that one of the reasons for the attractiveness of the speech of the candidate for the position of mayor of the city, Zahran Mamdani, stems primarily from his promises to open huge grocery stores in various neighborhoods of the city that provide subsidized foods for the poor and needy like us.”

Loom replacement

Several federal judges preempted the SNAP shutdown by ordering the Agriculture Department to use its emergency funds to keep SNAP running last Friday, and they ordered an update on their decision Monday. It remains unclear how the Donald Trump administration will respond in practice to this decision.

For his part, the president said in response to the judges’ rulings by saying on the Truth Social platform, “I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund the Snap program as soon as possible.”

“Our government lawyers don’t believe we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with some of the money we have on hand. I don’t want Americans to go hungry just because radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government,” he added.

Trump had previously intervened to ensure that members of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies received their salaries despite the fact that all government employees stopped receiving their salaries due to the closure, and Trump did not take the initiative to do the same with America’s poor.

For his part, Senator Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate from New York State, praised the judiciary’s decision, and said in a tweet on the

For its part, the Trump administration blames Democrats in the Senate for the continued closure, given their refusal to vote in favor of a short-term funding bill proposed by Republicans in the House of Representatives, which does not include an extension to support the Affordable Care Act that Democrats insist on.

An American version of poverty and hunger

3 years ago, in mid-2022, and due to increasing poverty rates as a result of the blows to the American economy following the outbreak and spread of the Corona virus, former President Joe Biden initiated a conference aimed at “ending hunger and food insecurity” in the United States within 8 years.

Biden’s step was the first since former President Richard Nixon proposed a food policy conference in 1969, which led to the establishment of food support programs that are in effect to this day, and were stopped by the government shutdown.

America leads the world in terms of the size of its gross domestic product, which is expected to exceed $29 trillion this year, yet poverty and hunger find their way to millions of Americans.

While the per capita GDP this year reached more than 69 thousand dollars annually, which places it among the highest incomes in the world, the lives of millions of families are being shaken due to the cessation of food subsidies that do not exceed a few hundred dollars per month.

At the same time, many families depend on providing the main meal through the free meals provided by government schools during the school day.

Poverty in America

• Poverty is classified according to American standards for a family of four people if their annual income is less than $33,148.
• While the number decreases to about 20 thousand for a family of 3 people, and 16 thousand and 247 dollars for a family of two people.
• A person becomes poor if his annual income is less than $12,784.
• 12.3% of Americans, or approximately 41.7 million people, fall into this category, in addition to approximately 600,000 homeless people (without housing).