Published April 4th, 2012

The Center for American Progress reported statistics last month around Veteran poverty, including that a staggering $31 million in food stamps were spent at military commissaries in 2008 to help feed active and retired service members and their families struggling with hunger.

This number is telling because it suggests that the number of Veterans without commissary privileges (which include the majority of Veterans), many who have had a hard time finding work in the worsening economy since 2008, vastly overshadows the $31 million figure.

Other related numbers reported in the article:

- 1.5 million Veterans are at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

- Nearly 1 in 10 veterans with disabilities were not employed in 2010.

- More than 968,000 of veterans ages 18 to 64 had been in poverty in the past year in 2010.

The conclusion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will bring home about 100,000 Veterans in the coming year, to a system already overburdened that is not providing Veterans with the services and support they need to reintegrate successfully into civilian life.

“This problem is made worse by the fact that “this past fall the congressional “super committee” charged with developing a plan to reduce the deficit did not come to an agreement. As a result, if Congress fails to act, automatic cuts will be triggered in January 2013 to both non-war defense spending and domestic discretionary spending, including many human needs programs that provide greater opportunity to veterans and nonveterans alike.”

Feed Our Vets works to provide good, nutritious food to United States Veterans whose circumstances have left them on the battlefield of hunger.  Please help support our work

Read the full article at Center for American Progress