Tackling poverty, and the baby formula shortage
Shelves typically stocked with baby formula sit mostly empty at a store in San Antonio, May 10. Credit: AP/Eric Gay
Regionalize poverty levels to help poor
Bringing attention to the plight of Long Island’s working poor who receive food stamps is a worthy cause [“Falling behind, even with a raise,” LI Business, May 22]. We are seeing a dramatic increase in that population coming for food at our organization's five satellite locations. Many of them are earning much more than the minimum wage -- we see large families where household income can be as high as $50,000 and more, but it isn’t enough to pay the bills, fight inflation and afford escalating gas prices.
One solution – and we’re hopeful that the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in September addresses this – is to regionalize the federal poverty rate, which is the yardstick for measuring who qualifies for federal benefits. Right now, a family of four on Long Island can’t quality for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits if they make a dollar above $39,756. The number for our region should be double, $79,512. Today, that Long Island family with a $50,000 income and experiencing food insecurity is visiting food pantries at an unprecedented rate. Congress must recognize economic diversity for the hungry.
I saw baby formula crisis coming months ago
We have a serious problem ["70,000 lbs. of baby formula arrive in U.S.," News, May 24]. How can President Joe Biden say he's not a mind reader and didn't see this coming? I, as a grandmother, saw it coming four months ago when I tried to help someone find formula for her baby. And now, my granddaughter is in that situation, only worse. We keep looking. The other day, nobody seemed to have formula. I called local different government offices two weeks ago, and nobody got back to me. We need help.
Amid a baby formula crisis, 192 out of 208 House Republican lawmakers voted against an emergency spending bill to address the terrifying situation. Every Democrat voted in favor. These conservatives, most of whom are abortion foes, only seem to care about the “sanctity“ of life until that life exits the womb, after which it’s on its own.
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