It doesn’t seem to make any real good sense that America, long considered to be the world’s breadbasket should have so many millions of its own people suffering from food insecurity, year in and year out, but we do. The troubling thing about America, is that while most Americans are aware of the Great Depression, in which we read at govinfo.gov that “By 1939 the federal government was distributing foods to 12.7 million unemployed and poor persons suffering under the weight of the Great Depression” -- that we also seem somewhat unaware of what feedingamerica.org tells us about present day Americans, of which, “In 2022 alone, 49 million people turned to food assistance for extra help.”
Basically, this indicates that while today’s America is no longer suffering from a Great Depression, and has not been in such dire straits for generations, that somehow, though, we have a troubling amount of people, that suffer persistently from a food insecurity problem, in this, the richest nation that the world has ever known. The fact that so many citizens of this nation, are not food secure, as well as often being under-educated, under-housed, and living in conditions which do not reflect well the prosperity of this nation, nor of the alleged superiority of its capitalistic system, is absolutely pathetic.
The bottom line is that any nation that is incapable of first taking care of its own citizens, is a nation that has failed those same citizens. This thus indicates that in consideration of all of the great charitable organizations that this nation has, as well as its many food banks, both private and governmental sponsored, along with the continual generosity of giving individuals and institutions, that this nation has still failed to solved its food insecurity problem, despite the wealth of food that this nation produces, and has at its ready distribution disposal.
The true reflection of this country is contained not within its grand and luxurious buildings and homes, or any of its impressive infrastructures that have been created, or even via the educational and scientific achievements of the best of the minds in America, but rather such is displayed more truthfully by that which America conveniently prefers to ignore as even existing, which is all of the people and communities, that are suffering from food insecurity as well as the plethora of problems that ingrained poverty and prejudice so births.
The truth of America is what we don’t see represented enough -- which is that millions upon millions of Americans, including their children, don’t have the very basic things, such as nutritional food, good shelter, fair opportunity, as well as being able to live in a community that is safe, that many an American takes as their given birthright. This is unacceptable and should be seen as a disgrace to this country and that which it represents. The fact that so many suffer so much in America, despite good people and good institutions doing what they can to aid them, is a fair and accurate reflection that this governance has failed its people. That is to say, all of the food banks, all of the food stamps, and all of the free student meal programs, have to exist because there is something rotten in America, which seemingly can’t be put back together properly for the expressed beneficence of those that are the most vulnerable amongst us.