Thanksgiving is upon us, and our bellies will soon explode from overindulgence in savory turkey, creamy mashed potatoes and sweet apple pie. Yet we’ve realized, as many of our fellow students already do, that these delectable delights are gifts of life and our appreciation has grown exponentially.

There are many Americans, though, who won’t be able to enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal like the rest of us. Millions of people must confront the realities of hunger every day. 49.1 million Americans live in food insecurity, 15.8 million of which are children. This epidemic hits particularly close to home, as around 390,000 Iowans are currently struggling with hunger.

Even worse, Story County, home of our college, is the hungriest county in Iowa. 12,000 people in Story County report to be food insecure, 2,500 of which are children.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, plays a large role in reducing the adverse effects of living in poverty. It helps alleviate the difficulties working Americans face in trying to put food on the table, not only for themselves but also for their children.

Last year however, there were major cuts to SNAP, which dramatically increased the burden for many Americans in providing a typical Thanksgiving meal for their family. The cuts were largely reinforced by an ideology pushed by some of our own representatives. For instance, Rep. Steve King has said, “You don’t hand out food stamps and think it stimulates the economy.”

Joni Ernst, our newly elected senator, once stated, “What we have to do a better job of is educating not only Iowans, but the American people that they can be self-sufficient.” While self-sufficiency is definitely something to strive towards, she further attacked government assistance programs, such as School Nutrition Association, for fostering “a generation of people that rely on the government to provide absolutely everything for them.” That does not reflect the reality of the millions who require government assistance merely to survive. 

These comments — which are drops in a flood of similar misconceptions — represent a fundamental divergence from the facts of the matter.

It’s important that our representatives be reminded of the truth. Moody’s Analytics has estimated that “for every dollar of SNAP benefits spent, $1.70 of economic activity is created.” That means SNAP stimulates the economy, a clear opposition to the assertion that SNAP weighs our economy down. SNAP also represents a very low percentage of the federal budget.

In addition, a single beneficiary only receives about $2.10 per meal per month. Sadly, in one month, a family of four will only receive benefits equalling $1.76 per person per meal. And a family of ten? $1.58 per person per meal. Try living a week on those allowances.

There are a host of other claims that require refutation before we can even begin solving the problem of hunger.

Contrary to what many politicians believe, such has our aforementioned senator, people receiving SNAP benefits are hard working Americans. The labor force participation rate for SNAP recipients is very high. In addition, there is next to no fraud in the food stamp program. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, using statistics from the Congressional Budget Office, SNAP fraud has been cut by three-quarters over the past 15 years, with the program’s error rate at an all-time low of less than three percent.

There are many more Americans on SNAP nowadays due to the worst recession since the Great Depression. Luckily, as the Congressional Budget Office has also projected, the growth in SNAP benefits is, predictably, temporary, and it will return to 1995 levels by 2019.

More importantly, there isn’t a clear and significant link between food stamps and unhealthy eating. Concern for unhealthy eating represents a separate but equally dire problem. As dutiful observers of dietetics, not only do we want to feed people, but feed them nutritionally sound food.

We’ve heard many of our fellow students bickering and scoffing at people who purchase a bag of potato chips with their food stamps. Therein lies a hypocrisy that requires our attention — you students who make these complaints eat junk food just as much. The problem, therefore, is systemic. Americans need to reform their eating habits, drive down the high prices of healthy food, eliminate food deserts in big cities and provide an example for others to follow.

These complaints also shy away from the fact that healthy food costs a lot of money. It also requires numerous utensils and devices for preparation and preservation, and most of the time people living paycheck to paycheck simply can’t afford everything.

Overall, these rare instances of people abusing the system do not represent the average grocery cart of a food stamp recipient. Besides, this is food we’re talking about — it’s not like people are purchasing a television or computer with their food stamps. Are we really going to complain about feeding other people?

So, what can we do to combat hunger? First we can support legislation that bolsters SNAP instead of ruining it. Common-sense reforms are fair, but completely eliminating a crucial resource for impoverished families because of this crazy ‘moocher’ conception is simply irresponsible and downright cruel.

That’s the easy part. Real action requires much more effort. We can also begin donating to and assisting Students Helping Our Peers, which is the Iowa State University food pantry “for students by students.” This will help increase food security in Story County and among our peers. 

You can also volunteer with the Food At First program here in Ames, which utilizes food that would otherwise be thrown away by grocery stores and food services and converts them into weekend meals. 

There are many ways in which we can combat hunger in our society. The fight isn’t fought only by private and charitable organizations, but also by our government, which is an extension of ourselves. We need to do everything we can to help our fellow Americans provide food for themselves and their families. We have all the resources available to eliminate hunger — we just need to take the first step. By eliminating the difficulty in fulfilling this very basic need, we will lift people out poverty and create better country for ourselves and the less fortunate. Let’s show the world what we mean by “the better angels of our nature.”