Dias de los Muertos: Starving will Add to the Memory

[TexasTowelie]

By Dr. Brian Carr
President, Behavioral Health Associates, Lubbock, Texas, 1991-Present
Chairman, City of Lubbock Board of Health, 2013
Submitted on November 1, 2013 - 8:24am

It is fitting that people dressed as skeletons last night and that today some will observe the first of two days honoring the memory of their deceased loved ones. Dias de los muertos is a two day observation with the first day being one of remembrance of lost infants and children.

What better day for our Congressman Randy to join with others on the Right in slashing food stamps and ensuring that 35,000 Lubbock county residents will go hungry. As reported on KCB D:

“Over the next eleven months, an estimated $4.2 million in federal nutrition funding will be drained from Lubbock County as a result of the reduction. The cut, equivalent to 1.6 million meals, comes as Lubbock families of all income levels plan for the holidays with their families. A family of four will face an average decrease of $36 dollars in monthly food aid.”

I recently listened to a presentation from David Weaver, the CEO of the South Plains Food Bank where he described the harsh reality of these budget cuts. His counterpart at the Texas Food Bank Network (TFBN) described the impact as:

"This cut comes at the worst time for the families in Lubbock who must rely on SNAP to put food on the table," said Celia Cole, CEO of the Texas Food Bank Network (TFBN). "The South Plains Food Bank stands ready to help its neighbors in need, but our food banks cannot make up for a cut of this magnitude."

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ report: “A household of three, such as a mother with two children, will lose $29 a month – a total of $319 for November 2013 through September 2014, the remaining 11 months of fiscal year 2014…. Without the Recovery Act’s boost, SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2014 will average less than $1.40 per person per meal.”

So, enjoy your tailgate party this weekend and imagine the hungry that are watching. Do you think Congressman Randy will be missing any meals?


TAGS:

LubbockOnline Blog
Cruz likes pie
honoring the loss
Lubbock
making it happen
mean
Perry clutches his fork
Randy doesn't miss a meal
some want us to hurry up and meet Jesus
Texas
try having a $1.40 meal plan

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/dr-brian-carr/2013-11-01/dias-de-los-muertos-staving-will-add-memory

Cross-posted in the Good Reads forum.

[white cloud]

1. The RW/TP

have gotten where they hate the poor , and black.

[DhhD]

2. Sorry state of Texas on Food Stamps before this new cut in the SNAP Program. It will

just get worse. Schools provide breakfast and lunch if you can get the child there. Another big problem in the summer is no transportation to the schools serving the two meals.

http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program/

Are hungry people going to take their kids to a hospital, firehouse, or orphanage for care? What are they going to do when they can not make it through the month now?