美國越來越少的家庭挨餓。但是糧食援助的削減迫在眉睫

美國越來越少的家庭挨餓。但是糧食援助的削減迫在眉睫

Millions of families in the U.S. struggled to get enough food to eat last year, but conditions appear to be getting better as the economy improves.

去年，美國數(shù)百萬家庭難以獲得足夠的食物，但隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)的提高，情況似乎正在好轉(zhuǎn)。

In a new report released Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that about 11 percent of households — just over 14 million — had trouble putting enough food on the table last year and that in about 4 percent of households, someone went hungry because there was not enough money to buy food.

在周三發(fā)布的一份新報告,美國農(nóng)業(yè)部說,大約11%的家庭——超過1400萬——餐桌上沒有足夠的食物,在大約4%的家庭,有人因?yàn)闆]有足夠的錢買食物而挨餓。

While the numbers are high, they have steadily dropped in recent years and the government says that the level of what it calls food "insecurity" is finally back to where it was before the Great Recession began in 2007.

盡管這一數(shù)字很高，但近年來一直在穩(wěn)步下降。政府表示，“食不果腹”的水平終于回到了2007年大蕭條開始前的水平。

"That's good news," says Rachel Merker of First Focus, a group that advocates for children and families. But she and other anti-hunger advocates worry that the new numbers will be used to justify cuts in government aid. They say that hunger is still a problem, especially among certain vulnerable groups.

“這是個好消息，”兒童和家庭權(quán)益倡導(dǎo)組織First Focus的雷切爾·默克說。但她和其他反饑餓倡導(dǎo)者擔(dān)心，新的數(shù)字將被用來證明削減政府援助的合理性。他們說，饑餓仍然是一個問題，特別是在某些弱勢群體中。

For the most part, children are shielded from food shortages because adults often miss meals to ensure that the younger members of the household have enough to eat. But the report — which is put out each year by the USDA's Economic Research Service — found that 15 percent of children lived in food-insecure households last year. And it found that as many as 540,000 children actually went hungry because of a lack of food.

在很大程度上，兒童免受食品短缺的影響，因?yàn)槌赡耆私?jīng)常不吃飯，以確保家中更年輕的人有足夠的食物。但是這份由美國農(nóng)業(yè)部經(jīng)濟(jì)研究服務(wù)部每年發(fā)布的報告發(fā)現(xiàn)，去年有15%的兒童生活在食不果腹的家庭中。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，實(shí)際上有54萬兒童因?yàn)槿狈κ澄锒ゐI。

The USDA says black and Hispanic families, as well as those headed by single women or men, struggled the most to get enough food. Twenty-one percent of black, non-Hispanic households and 16 percent of Hispanic households were food insecure.

美國農(nóng)業(yè)部表示，黑人和西班牙裔家庭，以及那些由單身女性或男性領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的家庭，在獲得足夠的食物方面最為艱難。21%的黑人、非西班牙裔家庭和16%的西班牙裔家庭沒有糧食保障。

The numbers are based on an annual survey conducted by the Census Bureau, which asks individuals about difficulties they encountered getting enough food to provide balanced meals for all members of the household and whether anyone was forced to cut back on meals or go hungry during the year.

這些數(shù)字是基于美國人口普查局進(jìn)行的一項年度調(diào)查得出的。該調(diào)查詢問個人在獲得足夠的食物來為所有家庭成員提供均衡膳食時遇到的困難，以及是否有人在一年中被迫減少飲食或挨餓。

The decline in the number of food-insecure households comes as the Trump administration has proposed tightening eligibility for some food aid programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.

“食不果腹”家庭數(shù)量下降之際，特朗普政府提議收緊一些食品援助項目的資格，比如補(bǔ)充營養(yǎng)援助計劃，也稱食品券。

The administration argues that a stronger economy means that more recipients should be able to find jobs and be less reliant on government help. Among other things, the Trump administration has proposed new work requirements for single, able-bodied adults, a change that critics say could cost 750,000 SNAP recipients their benefits because they will be unable to meet the requirements.

美國政府認(rèn)為，經(jīng)濟(jì)走強(qiáng)意味著更多的受助人應(yīng)該能夠找到工作，減少對政府援助的依賴。此外，特朗普政府還對身體健全的單身成年人提出了新的工作要求，批評人士稱，這一改變可能會讓75萬“補(bǔ)充營養(yǎng)援助計劃”用戶失去福利，因?yàn)樗麄儗o法滿足這些要求。

The administration also wants to eliminate the flexibility states now have to raise certain asset and income levels that cannot be exceeded in order to qualify for food stamps. The rule change, if implemented, could end benefits for about 3 million people, according to the USDA.

美國政府還希望各州取消目前必須提高某些資產(chǎn)和收入水平的靈活性，沒有超過這些資產(chǎn)和收入水平，才能有資格領(lǐng)取食品券。根據(jù)美國農(nóng)業(yè)部的說法，這一規(guī)定的改變，如果得到實(shí)施，可能會終結(jié)約300萬人的福利。

Critics of Trump's proposals argue that more people will go hungry if they do not continue to get help. More than half of all food-insecure households reported that they received SNAP benefits or participated in other government nutrition assistance programs last year.

批評特朗普提議的人認(rèn)為，如果不能繼續(xù)得到幫助，會有更多的人挨餓。在所有“食不果腹”的家庭中，超過一半的家庭報告說，他們?nèi)ツ戢@得了“補(bǔ)充營養(yǎng)援助計劃”的福利，或者參加了政府的其他營養(yǎng)援助項目。

"If these proposed changes go into effect, there is a very real risk that this positive progress will be eroded by policy changes that penalize the poor and make it harder to feed our children," said Lisa Davis, senior vice president of Share Our Strength, an anti-hunger advocacy group.

反饑餓倡導(dǎo)組織“分享我們的力量”的高級副總裁莉薩·戴維斯說:“如果這些提議的改變生效，這一積極的進(jìn)展很可能會受到政策變化的侵蝕，這些政策變化會懲罰窮人，讓我們更難養(yǎng)活孩子。”

Advocates are also worried about the impact of another Trump proposal, which would make it difficult for immigrants to get green cards or extended visas if they use public benefits, such as food stamps. Social service providers have already reported a drop in immigrant families — including those with U.S. citizen children — using such programs for fear of the impact it will have on their status.

支持者還擔(dān)心特朗普的另一項提議的影響，如果移民使用食品券等公共福利，他們將很難獲得綠卡或延長簽證。社會服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu)已經(jīng)報告說，使用這類項目的移民家庭減少了，其中包括那些有美國公民子女的家庭，他們擔(dān)心這類項目會影響他們的地位。