The recession fuels a rise in “food-insecure” children.
“The stereotype of a welfare recipient is that we lie back and don’t do anything but pop out children,” says Angela Sutton, a Witnesses to Hunger participant and mother of two who has her associate’s degree from Drexel. “I’m very well educated. We want to work for what we receive.”
But they should receive more help, says Chilton. She argues that Philadelphia needs a more concerted effort to tackle the problem of child hunger, not just well-meaning but less-than-systemic efforts like food drives for Philabundance.
Food drives, she says, “are not the way to end hunger. It’s not even the way to treat it.”
Instead, she says, City Hall should get started by aggressively helping more poor families apply for and receive federal food stamps. It can start tracking the number of hungry children in the city instead of leaving the effort to outfits like Chilton’s Children’s HealthWatch. And it can treat hungry children as though they’re as important as condo developers.
“There’s a huge incentive for those luxury apartments right there,” Chilton says, nodding south out the window of her 11th floor office at 15th and Race. “Why not give incentives to small businesses so they can provide affordable fruits and vegetables?”
Cruz has moved out of North Philly to the south part of the city—the result, she says, of nagging by Chilton. She’s married now, expecting another child and hopes to join either the Philly Police or Fire departments. In the meantime, food stamps will remain part of her family’s life.
The stamps usually run out with a week or so left. “It’s enough when you get them. When they run out, that’s it,” Cruz says. “When you’re counting days and you’re counting meals, it’s a long time.” Fortunately, Cruz’s husband makes enough money to see them through, and her mother-in-law lives nearby so Cruz no longer has to worry about putting her little girls to bed early in order to save energy.
Chilton, meanwhile, is hoping for more attention and action on the issue.
“It takes a long time for a family to go hungry. Things are really bad,” Chilton says of the growing numbers of hungry children. “It’s not just a Philadelphia problem. But if you live in this community, you have to face it.” ■
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