Originally published June 13

IN OUR OPINION

Update the recipe for food stamp program

June 13, 2007

The value of food stamps could not be clearer in a place like Michigan, where the number of people using them has increased by 77% in the last five years. They are indispensable when times turn tough -- they were the first and quickest aid available to Hurricane Katrina victims, for example, making them just as vital in disasters as they are to people experiencing long-term economic distress.

Yet the way they are apportioned hasn't changed in years, and it is crucial that Congress increase the base funding. The minimum stipend, which often goes to poor senior citizens and people with disabilities to help them stretch their food budgets, is a ridiculously meager $10 a month -- an amount that hasn't changed since 1977. The average allotment works out to $21 a week, or roughly $1 a meal.

Yes, you can eat on that amount, but generally only by sacrificing any efforts to work fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet. That leaves you with the cheapest over-processed food or forces you into bulk commodities such as pasta, rice, beans or lentils. Those meals can be tasty with modest additions and a few spices, assuming you can afford them, but it takes a talented cook to make them appealing and nutritious day in and day out. Is it any surprise that obesity and diet-related ailments are increasing in this country?

Many food stamp recipients count among the working poor, and virtually all of them beyond the elderly and disabled have children at home. It's not just shameful that a wealthy country should allow any of its youngsters to go to bed hungry, it's also irresponsible and counterproductive. Children need a solid nutritional foundation to grow into adults able to assume their generational responsibilities as citizens and skilled workers.

Congress is at work revising the farm bill, which is the home of the food stamp program. It needs to widen access to the program and update benefit levels. It should not be out of reach for any American to have, say, an apple a day.