But even that is not enough. When observed by race and geographic location, hunger rates were highest in the West and among blacks and Hispanics last year. The discrepancies between hunger rates was most alarming when the West's 3.6 percent of households that suffered hunger sometime during the past year was compared with 2 percent in the Midwest and 2.5 in the Northeast. The South was almost as bad as the West with 3.1 percent. The difficulty of procuring aid could be the reason many families are still going hungry.
Federal officials say many low-income workers do qualify for food stamps.
Unfortunately, many are not receiving the stamps because they don't realize they are eligible or have become frustrated with government red tape and the complexity of applications. The government should help more citizens suffering from hunger if the services are available and people are needy. Offering food assistance isn't any good if those who are needy are unaware they are eligible for aid. T O P 2000, University of South Florida The Oracle Newspaper. All rights reserved.