December 11, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America?
by Joel Berg
When it comes to the matter of hunger in America, writes Joel Berg, executive director of New York City Coalition Against Hunger, “only government has the size, scope, and resources — and yes, the legitimacy — to take the lead in actually solving the problem.”
Mr. Berg says hunger is “America’s dirty little secret,” and gives statistics to show that the number of Americans without enough food is growing: There are now 35.5 million people who don’t have enough to eat, an increase of more than four million from 1999.
Behind that increase, he says, is the shrinking of the middle class, inadequate news-media coverage, and a reduction in welfare benefits.
He also examines the numerous ways hunger manifests itself. In one chapter, entitled “Are Americans Hungry — or Fat?,” he writes that malnutrition and obesity can exist in the same household, because balanced, nutritious meals are more expensive and less available to poor people than cheaper processed or fast food.
Mr. Berg also offers solutions to the problem. In the chapter “Here It Is: The Plan to End Domestic Hunger,” he calls for several policy changes, including reinventing the federal nutrition “safety net” by combining disparate programs into one efficient entity. He demonstrates how such a move would be relatively cheap. He also calls for universal, in-classroom school breakfasts for children, a reward program for states that do the best job in reducing hunger rates, and increased aid from businesses.
Publisher: Seven Stories Press, 140 Watts Street, New York, N.Y. 10013; (212) 226-8760; fax (212) 226-1411; http://www.sevenstories.com; 320 pages; $22.95; ISBN 1583228543.
