A Staggering Number of Americans Go Hungry Every Day, And Things Could Get Worse Under Trump

Just issues, news, and other stuff that matters to you [Fusion] November 23, 2016 Tomorrow is a holiday that many Americans use to reflect and be thankful. And this week, we have a lot to think about. Thanks to a computer scientist, we can [contemplate an election recount]; thanks to Kanye West, we can ponder[black men and mental health]; thanks to [this talented dog], we can muse upon the amusing absurdity of the [Mannequin Challenge]; thanks to Native American teens, we can consider [the real history behind Thanksgiving]. Me? I’ll be thinking and thanking and [wishin’ and hopin’]… and then going to the movies. —[Dodai Stewart] TODAY IN… THE ILLUSION OF SAFETY 📎 Some Americans have started to wear safety pins on their clothing as a gesture of allyship with people of color, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community. The problem? [Even though fashion can be a powerful form of protest, there are many reasons this gesture doesn't qualify.] TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES ⚠️ 2016 has been the deadliest year on record for trans homicide. And that number, like the numbers every year before, is likely an underestimation. What does a Donald Trump presidency mean for these Americans? [A trans woman speaks out]. LONG DISTANCE CALLS 📞 How [a phone conversation with the president of Argentina] is the first of what might be a crapload of potential conflicts of interest for an international real estate developer who’s about to become commander in chief of the most powerful nation on earth. Good times. GOING ALONG FOR THE RIDE 🐎 Meet Pennie, Pinky, KB, and Brittaney: the[black cowgirls bucking rodeo trends]. THE READ [A Staggering Number of Americans Go Hungry Every Day. Things Could Get Worse Under Trump.] by Katie McDonough Thanksgiving tends to make people think about hunger. Food pantries report a [spike in volunteering around the holidays], donations generally go up, and [rich people are photographed wearing hairnets and dishing out mashed potatoes]. But when interest dries up, people stay hungry. This past September, nearly a third of the food pantries and soup kitchens in New York City reported that they had turned people away. They cited two reasons: either they weren’t able to prepare nutritious enough meals, or they simply ran out of food altogether. According to the latest [report from the Food Bank of New York City], 42% of pantries across the city also said they had to reduce the number of meals they packed into bags for people to take home with them, for the same reason: there just wasn’t enough food to go around. And you can see the [same pattern] [of demand] in [reports from food pantries] [across the country]. The math behind this crisis is pretty simple—and brutal. In 2013, a set of [automatic reductions to a federal food assistance program called] the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) left people with less money to spend on food. An additional round of cuts to the program in 2014 was [one of the only things Democrats and Republicans actually agreed on that year]. This is what the cycle of hunger looks like in the United States, and with president-elect Donald Trump heading to the White House in January and House Speaker Paul Ryan pulling the strings on the federal budget, [further reductions to food assistance are on the agenda]. [Read more]. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CULTURAL TRADITION OF MAN CANDY 👀 Side dish! Check out this brief history—going back one hundred years—of [famous men taking off their shirts]. The first paragraph is simply delicious, and the meaty piece just keeps getting juicier as you go. Enjoy. [Facebook] [Twitter] [Vine] [Instagram] [Youtube] Remember, you can always [click here to unsubscribe] and never see another one of these emails until the apocalypse (at which time it'll be nothing but emails). This email was sent to {EMAIL} Fusion · 419 Lafayette St · New York, NY 10003 · USA