Alltop.com

You need to read the whole story, not the headline. If you forgot to eat a meal once last year you'd qualify as one of the "1 in 6". This was a poll whose questions were flawed. We need more accurate statistics before we start flailing about and crying.

I agree that the article seems somewhat vague, but it does state this:

“The report, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found that 17 million people in the U.S. went hungry or did not eat regularly for a few days of each month over seven or eight months last year. That's a 45% increase from 12 million people in 2007. In 2008, 16.7 million children did not eat regularly at some point, up from 12.4 million in 2007.”

This is not the first report or ethnographic study that shows the sharp rise of hunger in this country. When people are out of a job and food prices constantly increase, it has to have an impact.

The article, though, could have done a better job provide evidence and facts.

Think. 1 in 6? Is anyone you know, or anyone they're likely to know, truly going hungry? At work, in the neighborhood, in church, or at any organization of which you might be a member. However, "Did not eat regularly for a few days each month" certainly applies to me and 100% of the people I know. This same infinitely elastic yardstick is being used to measure "poverty". Don't listen to them. They have an obvious agenda. Common sense will show you what's true and what's blatant propaganda. They should be ashamed of themselves (but I'll bet they're not).

Don, I think it's a mistake to assess the problem based on our own individual reality. With the growing number of people out of work and facing home foreclosures, there are no doubt many hungry people in this country. I'm not sure what the "obvious agenda"is. And what is the "blatant propaganda" about? Who personally benefits from people being hungry?

We have the most morbidly obese country in the world! I know people who are filing bankruptcy and are being foreclosed on, but they still have food on the table and even go out to eat at restaurants. How can we have a large number of very overweight people, yet have such a large number of those who are going hungry? The poll states "did not eat regularly." What exactly does this mean about hunger?

Larry, we can have obese people and hungry people at the same time, because obesity is caused by eating cheap food that contains calories (from fat and carbohydrates) but is low in nutrients. At the same time we have TV rotting people's brains and making them into couch potatoes, and wheels to drive.

People might live in their cars and be able to get by to buy super sized carbofat meals. Then why we have hungry, is perhaps people do skip meals, some jobless and homeless people.

Still 1 out of 6 is quite a high number to me, but what I see is just a fraction of the people in one or two city streets daily.

I personally skipped several meals almost every Friday at work and just went on few bites of comp bagels to cut costs.

Kids at schools may skip meals or eat really poor value food.

I think we should have statistics on MALNUTRITION and not just "being hungry" because you might eat sugar all day and not be hungry, but sure as heck you are suffering from malnutrition.