{"id":643470,"date":"2025-10-30T00:52:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T04:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wvmetronews.com\/?p=643470"},"modified":"2025-10-29T19:52:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T23:52:24","slug":"when-elephants-fight-the-grass-suffers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wvmetronews.com\/2025\/10\/30\/when-elephants-fight-the-grass-suffers\/","title":{"rendered":"When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a Spring Day in 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville in McDowell County walked into Henderson\u2019s Supermarket where they used food stamps<\/a> to buy groceries.\u00a0 Their first purchase was a can of pork and beans which, when added to the rest of their supplies, helped the Muncys feed their 15-person household.<\/p>\n

The Muncys were the first recipients of the new food stamp pilot program<\/a> in the country.\u00a0 That was the fulfillment of a promise made by President John F. Kennedy during his Primary Election campaign in West Virginia where he witnessed<\/a> \u00a0firsthand \u201chardship, despair, personal tragedy, hunger and hopelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following year, Kennedy announced a continuation of the pilot program in West Virginia and seven other locations saying,<\/a> \u201cLow income families are receiving better diets–they have been able to obtain meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Kennedy\u2019s assassination, President Lyndon Johnson requested, and Congress passed, the Food Stamp Act, making the program permanent and available to all states.\u00a0 Today, what is now known as SNAP<\/a>\u2014the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program\u2014provides food benefits to around 42 million low-income people in the United States, including 275,000 individuals in West Virginia.\u00a0 One third of those are children.<\/p>\n

It is self-evident that the SNAP<\/a> program is essential for families here and across the country who are struggling to put food on the table. According to the National Library of Medicine<\/a>, SNAP is \u201ca highly effective program, vital to our nation\u2019s health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, the program is stalled, a victim of the ongoing budget dispute in Congress.\u00a0 The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that SNAP benefits for November will not be paid.\u00a0 President Trump has promised<\/a> that his administration will find a way to make the payments, but he has not elaborated on how.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, food banks here and across the country are bracing for a surge of people in need.\u00a0 Cynthia Kirkhart, chief executive of Facing Hunger Food Bank in West Virginia, said<\/a> they are already experiencing a 50 percent increase in demand.<\/p>\n

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey has stepped up with a plan to help<\/a>.\u00a0 He announced Tuesday a donation drive with matching state funding of up to $13 million to buy food for the pantries. \u201cI have confidence in the people of West Virginia. I really do,\u201d Morrisey said.\u00a0 \u201cThis is our significant commitment, and we\u2019re not going to turn our backs on people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Credit Morrisey for advancing a public-private partnership that appeals to the generosity of West Virginians to help out their neighbors during a time of need.\u00a0 However, we should not be in this position in the first place.\u00a0 Congress and the president have failed to perform the most basic of responsibilities of passing a budget, and this is one of the painful results.<\/p>\n

There is an African proverb<\/a> that says, \u201cWhen elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.\u201d\u00a0 For weeks now, the politicians in Washington have been trying to push each other around.\u00a0 As a consequence, needy people here and across the country are paying the price.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a Spring Day in 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville in McDowell County walked into Henderson\u2019s Supermarket where they used food stamps to buy groceries.\u00a0 Their first purchase was a can of pork and beans which, when added to the rest of their supplies, helped the Muncys feed their 15-person household. 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