In Blue Collar, Bare Cupboard, author Sasha Abramsky describes life for the working poor in communities outside of Eugene, Oregon. What was always called “hungry” by the government has now been categorized as having “very low food security”:

In 2006, the USDA instructed government agencies to no longer refer to this group as being hungry. The change came about after a Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies reported it could not conclusively determine whether people who couldn’t afford to buy food actually experienced “discomfort, illness, weakness or pain that goes beyond the usual uneasy sensation.”

As a result, the 11 million Americans who cannot afford to stock their houses with food are now classfied as experiencing “very low food security.”

In the decades since the Great Depression of the 1930s, this category would have been made up largely of the long-term unemployed, the homeless, perhaps the mentally ill and other marginalized groups.

These days, however, increasingly it is the working poor—whose wages have stagnated, whose cost of living has gone up with higher gas, food and healthcare expenses, and whose time is now spent standing in line at food banks.

 Scott mentioned giving to Friends of the World Food Program. I would add (an addition, mind you, not substitution) your local food pantry to the list.

Via Heart Happy