National Security?

When Americans go hungry?

There are probably a lot of definitions of what makes up “national security” out there:  strong alliances, strong defense, professional and committed intelligence services, highly educated and world aware diplomats, a solid economy, strong industrial base, etc., etc., etc. The farther away I am from being an active practitioner of national security, the more my personal definition changes and expands.  Can there be national security if people are hungry in America?  America, the wealthiest country in the world with the largest military to keep us safe from foreign threats?  As Heather Cox Richardson put it on October 25, “What are we doing here?”

I live in West Virginia, just across the border from the wealthiest county in the United States:  Loudoun County Virginia.  West Virginia is one of the reddest of the red states, voting overwhelmingly for Trump in the last three presidential elections. And we are one of the poorest, least educated, and most polluted states in the country.  Our governor has found funds in our little state budget to keep two national parks open during the government shutdown - and I’m glad he did.  This will help our small businesses in Harpers Ferry and keep our parks in good shape for visitors who are critical to our local economy.  BUT he can’t find money to cover the impending federal SNAP freeze (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - formerly known as food stamps). And, of course, neither can Trump. He is apparently finding money to chew up the East Wing of the White House and is, according to his press secretary, completely focused on his golden ballroom project.  (Who IS running the non-ballroom programs of the ship of state?)

We are fortunate to have an organization like the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP), a non-profit dedicated to promoting policies designed to improve the lives of all West Virginians, not just those at the top of the wealth scale.  The WVCBP provides fact-based research and analysis on many issues impacting residents of the Mountain State.  It has been sounding the alarm for some time on food insecurity in West Virginia.  I want to take a few lines to let my readers know about the situation here using information from the WVCBP website (https://wvpolicy.org/category/economic-security/), Heather Cox Richardson’s most useful newsletters, and recently published press information.

• Some 270,000 of my neighbors in WV rely on the SNAP program to keep food on the table - this includes 100,000 children.

• According to Kelly Allen, executive director of WVCBP, the Trump administration and the US Department of Agriculture have the “authority, the funding, and the responsibility” to provide SNAP assistance to families during the shutdown. Sadly, they are apparently not going to do so.

• While campaigning for president in 1960, John F. Kennedy saw first hand the rampant poverty in West Virginia.  In 1961, President Kennedy announced a new food aid program that has gone through various forms over the intervening years. (Heather Cox Richardson, October 25, 2025)

• The GOP Big Beautiful Bill, passed in July 2025, cut some $186 billion from the SNAP program.  These cuts will fund tax cuts for billionaires among other things.

• To make matters even worse, according to Richardson’s October 25 newsletter, the USDA announced in September it will no longer produce reports on food insecurity in the United States, claiming the reports are just fear mongering.  Tell that to the West Virginia mom trying to support a family of four on $200 a week from her retail job.  Who are we???  This harkens back to Trump’s comments on COVID case reporting:  if we didn’t report the case numbers, we could simply say the numbers were low.  It also brings to mind his more recent pronouncements on economic statistics he didn’t like - just ignore them.

• According the the Mountain State Spotlight, food pantries in West Virginia are already struggling.  I know firsthand that my local pantries are putting out the call for donations and support.  They will get it because I live in the wealthiest county in the state.  But pantries in the rest of the state?  They will struggle even more.  I have no doubt people in this poor state will go hungry while the current administration builds a damn ballroom.

So my simple question is:  Can we have national security if we can’t feed Americans?  In my humble opinion, we can’t.  (If you are able, please donate to your local food pantries; your generosity will be appreciated.)

Thank you for reading.