A FOOD STAMP is not an actual stamp. It's a plastic ATM-like card loaded with a dollar value of, on average, $66 a week.

A food stamp is also a litmus test that divides two groups: those who see food stamps as a government handout to lazy BMW-driving scamsters, and those who see food stamps as a critical helping hand to the vulnerable. If you actually get food stamps, your view is much simpler: They may be the difference between eating and starving.

Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer Staff Writer

Philadelphia has the highest rate of deep poverty - people with incomes below half of the poverty line - of any of the nation's 10 most populous cities.

The annual salary for a single person at half the poverty line is around $5,700; for a family of four, it's around $11,700.

Philadelphia's deep-poverty rate is 12.9 percent, or around 200,000 people.

Phoenix, Chicago, and Dallas are the nearest to Philadelphia, with deep-poverty rates of more than 10 percent.

By John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist

THE CORBETT administration policy of requiring asset tests for food stamps sounds a lot better than it actually is.

Put in place last May, it ostensibly preserves government resources for the neediest while insisting that those with their own resources use them.

Seem sensible?

In fact, it's a restrictive step, shunned by most states. It needlessly punishes already-struggling low-income citizens, and it won't save Pennsylvania money.

But it is consistent.

Alfred Lubrano, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Amid the lawn grass and grace of a middle-class patch of Montgomery County, families aren't getting enough to eat.

So people crowd each week into the Seeds of Hope food pantry in Dresher, part of Upper Dublin Township, where, outwardly anyway, all seems well.

"The need is here," said Jim Galloway, a nondenominational Protestant minister from Abington Township who can find only part-time work and uses the pantry to get by. He was visiting Seeds of Hope to find food for dinner for his 64th birthday that day.

By Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer Staff Writer

Milk could be taken from babies in low-income families if automatic federal budget cuts go into effect Friday.

At the same time, meals normally delivered to senior citizens via Meals on Wheels might disappear - although not in Philadelphia, where the elderly will retain their food but might lose some access to free transportation instead.

By Alfred Lubrano, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Children who eat breakfast in school do better in math and miss fewer class days, according to a new national study released Wednesday.

"The simple act of feeding kids a healthy school breakfast can have a dramatic impact on their academic, health, and economic futures," the study concluded.

The report was created for Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America through its No Kid Hungry campaign.

Come learn about how you can help feed children this summer and hear the benefits of being a part of the Summer Food Service Program.

Presenters include:

Join GenPhilly for an informational workshop on hunger among seniors.

AGENDA:

Networking & Breakfast

Understanding the Issues: Ginger Zielinskie, Benefits Data Trust

Panel Discussion
Kate Clark, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (moderator)

By Chris O'Connell, Reporter
 
PHILADELPHIA -Could you live on $5 a day? That's the average allowance given to people who are living on food stamps.

Chris will provide daily updates on what life is like living on $5 a day below.

In the Philadelphia five-county area, there are nearly 700,000 people who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

It's not just in the inner city.

The biggest increase in food assistance comes from those living in the suburbs.

By Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer Staff Writer

In 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Five years, two elections, and one recession later, the lofty vow is nowhere near a reality.

Nearly 17 million American children struggled with hunger in 2011, the latest number available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.