by Lindsay Cuomo, Strategic Advocacy and Engagement Manager
As America marked its 250th anniversary, we heard stories about the innovations and movements that shaped our country. But anniversaries are not only occasions to celebrate progress. They are also opportunities to examine what we once accepted as true, what those beliefs cost us, and what we still need to change.
Hunger is woven throughout the American story. For generations, hunger was often treated as an individual problem rather than a public challenge. Families were blamed for circumstances created by low wages, limited access to nutritious food, economic downturns, discrimination, and gaps in public policy. Those assumptions influenced which solutions America was willing to consider, and, at times, who was considered worthy of help.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed, “There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it.”
America has had to unlearn some of its most damaging beliefs about hunger.
Myth: Hunger is only about having enough to eat
For much of the nation’s history, food assistance focused primarily on preventing people from going without any food at all. Programs often relied on distributing surplus agricultural products, which could provide calories but not the balanced nutrition families needed.
In 1968, the CBS documentary “Hunger in America” brought national attention to the devastating effects of malnutrition. Images of children experiencing severe hunger challenged the country to see that food quantity and nutritional quality could not be separated.
The attention helped expose gaps in existing assistance programs and build momentum for stronger nutrition policies, including the permanent authorization of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, in 1975.
Myth: Food assistance only benefits the recipient
The Food Stamp Act of 1964 reflected a broader understanding of how nutrition assistance moves through communities. The program was designed to help families purchase food while also strengthening demand for American agricultural products.
The lesson was significant: Food assistance does not stop at the household kitchen table.
Nutrition programs support farmers, food producers, truck drivers, grocery stores, and other local businesses. They help children arrive at school prepared to learn and adults remain healthy enough to work. The benefits ripple through food systems and local economies, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty.
When more families can afford groceries, communities benefit.
Myth: People experiencing hunger are not trying hard enough
Perhaps one of the most persistent myths is that people need food assistance because they are unwilling to work or make responsible choices.
For decades, families were required to purchase food stamps before receiving additional benefits. That requirement created an obvious barrier: People who were already struggling to afford food first had to find money to access assistance.
The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 eliminated the purchase requirement. Participation increased by approximately 1.5 million people in a single month, revealing how many eligible families had previously been blocked from receiving help.
The increase was not evidence that people suddenly became less responsible. It demonstrated that program design matters.
A person can work, care for children or aging relatives, make careful financial decisions, and still not earn enough to cover housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and food.
We have to remember that the stories we tell about hunger shape the solutions we are willing to build. Progress begins when we question harmful assumptions, listen to people with lived experience, and design systems around dignity rather than judgment.
What other myths about hunger does America still need to unlearn?