17 Million Americans ‘Repeatedly’ Short of Food, US Says

High unemployment and slow economic growth drove food stamp enrollment to record levels

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said hunger among poor Americans has shot up in 2011 over the previous year. Nearly 17 million are repeatedly experiencing a shortage of food, meaning they had to skip meals or not eat for a day to make food stretch. That’s a rise of 800,000 people, the department said. The increase is being contributed to high unemployment and slow economic growth, which also precipitated record enrollment in food stamps, the U.S. anti-hunger program. Republicans have been fighting Democratic opposition over GOP proposals to cut to the food stamp program, as a means to reduce the national budget deficit. (Reuters)

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