President's Budget Cuts Vital Food Program, Puts Seniors at Risk

[cal04]

President's Budget Cuts Vital Food Program, Puts Seniors at Risk of Hunger
Nearly 500,000 Low Income Seniors and Families Would Lose Monthly Meal Boxes

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080206/pl_usnw/president_s_budget_cuts_vital_food_program__puts_seniors_at_risk_of_hunger



CHICAGO, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Bush released a Fiscal Year 2009 budget proposal this week , that eliminates funding for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) -- a critical nutrition program benefiting nearly half a million low-income seniors and women with young children monthly in 32 states, the District of Columbia and two Indian Tribal Organization areas.

Elimination of CSFP will be devastating to the most vulnerable populations of low-income Americans in the United States, and in many cases it is their most critical source of nutritious food, said Vicki Escarra, president and chief executive officer of Americas Second Harvest -- The Nations Food Bank Network. It is extremely disappointing that many of our senior citizens are experiencing hunger. We live in a land of plenty. No one should go without food, especially our seniors who have contributed so much over the years to their communities and to this great nation.

The Presidents budget also would eliminate more than 300,000 working families with children from eligibility for the Food Stamp Program. Despite increasing costs of food and a deteriorating economy, the Presidents proposal fails to make much needed improvements in the Food Stamp Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which are contained in the pending House and Senate Farm Bills. These programs are crucial resources for many low-income Americans in need of food.

Some 93 percent of the Americans participating in CSFP are vulnerable seniors who rely on the food boxes that the CSFP provides to get them through each month. Eliminating CSFP puts these seniors at significant risk of health and related problems associated with aging and poor diets. It also will place additional burdens on food banks and emergency feeding organizations that already are suffering from stagnant funding and more than a 75 percent decline in USDA bonus commodity donations over the last four years.

[katty]

1. and these f*****s never stop - even at the 11th hour

[sam sarrha]

2. the political party of W's grandFather called them "Worthless Eaters" then used them for fire wood.

[katty]

3. yup, the bush family history is littered with this behavior

[Historic NY]

4. compassionate conservatism, my ass........

another example of passing the buck to local taxes to fund the difference.

[Joanne98]

5. KICK

[bronxiteforever]

6. Shame! The weakest, the poorest-perfect targets for the GOP